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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1961-12-21, Page 11THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1961 / Fcr This was the Greatest Night Once upon a time, away over in the village of Nazareth, in the hill of Galilee, there lived on the other side of the world, a beautiful girl named Mary. She was more beauiful than usual at this time because of her love for Joseph, who was to be her husband. Mary was' just like the other girls in the village. She worked at the spinning wheel in her home, made bread, and after supper would go to the well for a pitcher of water. There she met her friends and, eyes shiny bright, would tell there of the plans she and Joseph had for their marriage. And, in the darkness, before going to sleep each night, she knelt and prayed to God to bless their future life. Then, one day, in a blazing, blinding flash of white light, an angel stood before Mary. trembled at the sight of this This was Gabriel a messenger of God. Mary trembled at the sight of this heavenly visitor. But Gabriel, speaking as softly as the fur of a pussy willow, told her not to be afraid. He said that of everyone in the whole world she had been chosen to be the mother of Ye- all about. And that's what he sus, the Saviour of the world. did. oxen, and Joseph made their have to do them? Some were wooden yokes. very old, others were sick, and Working with his hands, in- in some families there were lit - stead of his head like a school tle children, even babies, It teacher, Joseph found it hard to was going to be hard for them understand the Virgin Birth. to travel. God knew this. He knows every- Just the same, they had to; thing that has ever happened. because Caesar was a very And he knows what will take cruel man, and when he said place tomorrow, and ten thou- you had to do something you sand tomorrows, if there are had to do it, or he would pun - that many. ish you. So, while Joseph was sleep- So, when it was time, Joseph ing, God sent an angel to him started out with Mary. They in a dream. The angel talked really didn't have far to go, to Joseph, explaining to him the way we figure things to - that the Virgin Birth was the day. It wasn't even as far as action of the Holy Ghost. And most people go on summer Joseph who loved God just as holidays. Mary did felt from then on a However, there were no great peace, and much greater cars, trains or buses in those love for Mary, if that were pos- days. Mary would have to ride sible. on a donkey. Joseph would Then, one day, working at take almost four days. his bench in the carpenter They stopped and rested shop, Joseph heard a lot of from time to time and once, excited talking going on out- with only six miles to travel, side. it seemed as though Mary could He was making a table he go no further. She was so tired. wanted to get finished, so he Loving her so much, Joseph al - tried to hear what people were most gave in, and stopped. saying while hammering away. But he told Mary they could This didn't work out very well, be in Bethlehem that night, if so there was only one thing to they hurried. And there would do. Go out and see what it was be a warm room in the inn. This made Mary feel better, and she smiled a beautiful, radiant smile, and said they had better go on. All along the way, they met other travellers, straggling a- long the valley road; while off in the distance, like a shadow against the sky were the pur- ple mountains of Moab. The people spoke to each other, telling their troubles, where they had come from, and where they would be staying. Just talking to each other made them feel better. No Roam Once Joseph and Mary reach- ed Bethlehem, they found it very noisy, and bright with camp fires all over the place. It was almost like a day at the market, with people standing around in groups, all talking at once. Camels and donkeys were tied to trees, and dogs were jumping and barking in play, or searching for food. Joseph and Mary were sur- prised to see so many people, but all had to be there to be This meant that from then on, people would call her blessed. So excited was Mary by the news from the angel, she had to talk to someone. Out the door she ran, and across the hills to Elizabeth her cousin. When Mary told her the. news, EIizabeth was so happy, she put her arms around Mary and kissed her. Then the two of . them sat down and talked and laughed, and laughed and talked, until they were almost out of breath. There was so much for them to talk about, because Eliza- beth, too was going to become a mother. Her baby was to be- come known as John the Bap- tist, and when grown tip, he would baptize Jesus in the ri- ver, It Was Hard Joseph, who became Mary's husband, was a carpenter. He worked with a hammer, saw and chisel, making chairs, tab- les, and plows for the farmers. 'o pull the plows farmers used but what of the people that A mean had come through the village. Nazareth was so small, everyone knew everyone else, but no one knew this man. He was from far away. The First Time There was the notice, though, that he bad put on the trunk of the tree. It said that the go- vernment of Caesar Augustus was going to count everybody, They do that in Canada, every 10 years or so; but this was probably the first tune it had ever been done anywhere in the world. Caesar didn't really care to know how many people there were, just for the sake of knowing, He wanted to find out so he could get money from thein, The man whb put the card on the tree could easily have counted these people living hi Nazareth. But Caesar figured it would be better if they all went back to where they were born. It is easy to say these things, ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS registered. And to pay a tax, Otherwise, Roman soldiers would have come after them. After looking around, Joseph soon found out that all of the sleeping places were filled. There wasn't even room at the inn. He had been sure they would get in there. The innkeeper felt very sorry about it. But there was nothing he could do. Then, looking at Mary's tired face, he knew some place had to be found for her to lie down. That's when he thought of the stable. Some clean straw could be put in, the innkeeper said, and at least they would be inside, and out of the cold. Joseph and Mary smiled their thanks. They were almost too tired to say anything. Eventually, the town grew quiet, with everyone going sound asleep after the excite- ment of the day. And, just as it was noisy before, now all was hushed. In fact, it was so quiet, you could hear yourself breathe. Then, all of a sudden, the whole town seemed to come awake. All at the same time, Right in the middle of the night. Shepherds' Message People were running here and there, and it was hard to understand just what was going on. As nearly as anyone could make out, there seemed to be something happening at the stable, back of the inn. So that's where everyone rushed. And there, they met some shepherds who had come in from the hills, These shep- herds, in their long, rough clothing and long beards, had a magnificent story to tell. While looking after their sheep on the hillside, an angel suddenly appeared in the sky. At the same time, a great light shone out. The angel told the shepherds that in the royal city of David, which was Bethlehem, a Saviour was born. This was Christ the King, the angel said. Wondering about this trem- endous message, the shepherds heard beautiful singing in the heavens. All the saints were singing at once; Glory to God in thehighest,,and, on earth, peace good will toward men. And with this heavenly choir above them, they hurried into Bethlehem to find the Christ child. Inside the old stable at the back of the inn, animal were shuffling around in their stalls but it was there that the shep- herds found the baby Jesus, sleeping on some straw in a manger. Alongside him sat Mary, the Virgin Mother, eyes bright with joy because of this Holy Child. And Joseph, full of ten- der care, looking with love and awe at his Saviour. The heavenly voices that had burst forth with joy still echo- ed over that little town, and all of the countryside. The re- flection of the dazzling light the shepherds had• seen was on the faces of all who were there. For this was the greatest night the world has ever known. The Messiah everyone had been looking for, and who had been promised by God, was finally here. Yes, Daniel's prediction had come true. "One like the Son of men with the clouds of heaven . . . and there was given Him do- minion, and glory, and a king- dom, that all people, nations and languages, should serve Him. His dominion is an ever- asting dominion, which shall not pass away. 0 The author of the favorite hildren's Christmas poem Twas the night before Christ- mas," an eminent New York ivinity professor, felt his crea- ion was below his dignity and ould not admit he wrote it or 20 years. 1 c d t w f Christmas cakes, iced cookies and other goodies are survivals of the old custom of giving confectionery gifts to the Sen- ators of Rome. The hanging up of the mis- tletoe and the burning of the Yule log are two of the most ancient customs which come from our pagan ancestors. Christmas south of the equa- tor falls in midsurnmer. Thus the decorations are fresh flow- ers and the goodies often are fruits taken direct from the trees. PAGE NINE How To ow/ FIv€.pins 44444 Some Tips On Good Timing Once you have grasped the technique of spot bowling, a good aim becomes simply a matter of knowing where to place your ball for each type of shot, delivering the ball ac- curately and — most important —following through properly. If you have lined up the target pin correctly, then roll your ball over the sighting dart exactly the same way each time, you should score exactly the same kind of hit each time, This would make the game very boring. You needn't worry, It won't happen. Not even the experts can throw ex- actly the same ball, in exactly the same way, with exactly the same force and same spin every time. No matter what method of aiming you use, the secret of controlling the ball and making it go exactly where you plan lies in timing and co-ordina- tion, • If the ball isn't going where you aimed it, obviously you are making some mistake. Sit down and figure out what the error may be, then experiment with ways to correct it. It's brains, not brawn that makes a good bowler. If you do experiment — es- pecially if you try changing to a three or four step approach— your score is almost certain to fall off immediately. This is na- tural. It shouldn't discourage you. Give yourself time to get the hang of the new delivery, and when your timing comes back you may find your game has improved sharply. Finding Fault With Yourself Because the secret of con- trolling the ball lies in tim- ing, and co-ordinating the movements of your arms, legs and body, this is the first place you should look for trouble when the ball starts developing a mind of its own. By Bert Garside and Jim 1-loult Chief Bowling Instructors Double Diamond Advisory Council Watch for these timing faults especially—or better yet, get, a teammate or friend to watch for them while you are bowling; Crossing your body with your arm. The ball must be kept close to your leg. Don't let it wander outwards on the back - swing. Palming the ball. The ball should rest on the fingers, not on the palm of the hand, Not enough follow through. Your hand should reach straight out for the target. Standing at an angle to the foul line. Your shoulders and feet should be parallel to the foul line. Releasing the ball at the im- proper point. If released too soon, it drops too heavily. If released too late, it bounces. Finishing too near or too far care of this newspaper. from the foul line. Taking your eyes off the tar- get. Too high a backswing may be tipping you off balance, Too short a backswing may unbalance you because you are "pushing" the ball forward to its release point instead of letting it swing naturally. Keeping your body too tense, or too tight a grip on the ball. If you feel you should be bowling a faster ball, don't just roll it harder. Instead, hold the ball higher at the start, give a stronger pushaway, take longer steps, and follow through. To slow your ball down, shor- shorter first step, use less ten your approach by taking a pushaway, or cut down your backswing a little. Above all, remember bowling is a game for fun. Keep it fun. The only reason for trying to improve your score is 5o that your score is so that you can have more fun. If you have any special bowling problems, or questions about the game, we would like to hear from you. Write us in '410r• tEgg4gttiM4K-falVetaMt 1 it A .a PA pv` 0 'a a 65 ite 65 hb A A A Angels S. ed 2 Rejoice, He is born in Bethlehem. We wish you and yours great peace and joy. TASTY -NU BAKERY ZURICH Orville Witmer — Allan Gascho and Staff 1 , m,;4,-, , �, � •• Ye,- , ) � , � �.. . .. , �,;f- Ye, Y� To our many good friends and customers we would like to extend the greetings of the Season and our wartnest appreciation for your valued patronage. The Management and Staff 'EARSON MOTORS LTD. ZURICH - - EXETER ""i iii ri wT