The Christmas Story

I. The Shepherds

A long time ago, in a country far away from here, there were shepherds who wandered over the hills with their flocks.

It was a warm country. The sun shone on the wide meadows and grassy hillsides, and covered them with flowers. Gay little brooks ran down to the rush ing river. Quiet pools gleamed under the green trees. Bees and birds and tiny wild creatures darted in and out among the leaves and flowers.

At night it was still warm and dry. The great silent moon came up above the hilltops. The stars twinkled overhead. All was peaceful and quiet.

On some of these warm nights the shepherds and their flocks stayed out of doors. The long grass was as soft as any bed could be, and the sweet night wind was refreshing after the heat of the day. It was quite as pleasant to sleep in the open air as under a roof, and both the sheep and the shepherds were used to being far from home.

One night, as the shepherds lay with their flocks on the hillside, watching the stars as they climbed into the heavens overhead, a sudden glory lit up the whole sky. Did they dream, or did they hear a voice say "Be not afraid; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign unto you. Ye shall find a babe lying in a manger."

Then came a great chorus of heavenly voices, sing- ing and praising God. When all was still again, one of the shepherds spoke, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass."

So they came with haste into Bethlehem, and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

II. The Wise Men

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea for thus it is written through the prophet...

Then Herod privily called the Wise-men, and learned of them exactly what time the star appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship him.

And they, having heard the king, went their way; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

III. Jesus the Christ

The baby Jesus grew up in the little house in Nazareth. His father was a poor man, and no doubt the boy's home would seem to the children of to-day very much less comfortable than theirs. It held no books or pictures, no piano, no dainty glass and silver, but only a few common dishes and pieces of furniture. Yet the boy who lived there is spoken of to-day with loving reverence in every country of the world. What did he do to make his name remembered for so many hundred years?

Did he grow up to be very rich and great? No, he was always poor, and he was almost unknown outside his own neighborhood. Was he very brave or wise? Yes, but other men who were brave and wise have been forgotten or remembered only with hatred. The reason that the name of Jesus is so loved is because of the love he taught and showed in his own life.

It was an old, old country where he lived. Across it from one end to the other went the long trails that the caravans followed on their way from the East to Egypt. One famous city it had, the city of Jerusalem, and here were many wise men. Once, when Jesus was still a boy, he went up to Jerusalem with his father and mother. Probably it seemed to him a very grand and splendid place. As he roamed about through the courts of the temple, he heard some of these wise men talking together, and his eager face may have led them to speak to him. Soon he was talking with them, asking questions and making the men wonder at his sayings.

Years went on, and still Jesus was thinking and wondering. Why was there so much anger and hatred in the world? Why were people so selfish? Why were the rich so unkind and unjust to the poor? Did God want the world to be a selfish, cruel place, where everybody looked out for himself, or did He want us to help each other? Was God tender and loving, or was He too far away to care about us?

Jesus went to the village church, or synagogue, and there he heard the priests say that God was a just judge and would punish those who disobeyed Him; but he rarely heard them say that God was a loving father and would forgive those who were sorry. Could lie, perhaps, go and tell the people what he believed about God? What could he tell them that would make them kinder and more gentle? Would they listen to him,—a poor countryman whom no one knew except his neighbors in the village where he lived? Well, he would try it, and he would try, too, to show people what kind of life they should live.

So he began his teaching,—at first among some fishermen not far from his home, and then in the larger villages and towns. He preached in the synagogues and in the fields; he cured the sick; he comforted the sorrowful; he talked with sinners and made them long to be better men and women; he took little children in his arms and loved them; he told his followers to be kind and unselfish and willing to serve each other always. He told diem that God loves us all just as a father loves his children, and that we ought to love Him. When they asked him how they could show their love for God, he told them to be helpful and loving to each other, especially to little children and to those who were weak and helpless. He said that God, who was so much wiser and greater than we, must be more loving too, and that the tenderest father we had ever seen was not so tender as our heavenly Father.

The people heard him gladly, and for three years Jesus went about doing good. Then he saw that the men who ruled his country were afraid of his power, and that, unless he stopped preaching, they might kill him. But he was not afraid to die. He was only afraid that what he lead taught about God might be forgotten. So he chose some of his friends to go on with his work, and, when he was finally seized and put to death on the cross, he showed no fear or dread. He felt sure that only his body would die, and that he should live on forever.

This is far from being the whole story of Jesus' life, but it shows why we follow his leadership to-day, so many, many years after his death. Of all the pure and noble lives in which God has shown us Himself, the life of Jesus is the purest and noblest. He did no wrong, he thought no unkindness, he feared no man, nor did he feel hatred toward any one. All men, rich or poor, were God's children and his brothers. He cared for them as a shepherd cares for his sheep, pitiful for their ignorance and their hurts and bruises, faithful to them even unto death.