RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20906, 21 December 1929, Page 5

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

By Ajiplius,

EIGHT NEW YEAR WISHES FOR

YOU. The Bethlehem Christ your own Savour and friend;. The “God of- the New Year'' your Guide to the end; The Spirit of Jesus your life in possession; The love "of the Master, your Lord, in confession; ’ Three hundred and sixty-five days, spotless white; Twelve months of glad service for God and the .risrht; A pure bob' life in the eyes of your Lord; And inches of treasure brought forth from His Word.

THE MESSAGE OF THE MANGER. The spell of Christmas is falling again upon onr busy world, and we join the little company that knelt in reverence at the manger side. “ The most precious scene _iu the world’s history, another has said, is this manger scene. The hearts of men find- here the message for which they thirst.

The message of the manger ie the message of lore. That is the one message for which men thirst. God gave Love to everybody that starlit, night. God’s Christmas gift was to the whole world. Jesus’- favourite expression concerning Himself was “The Son of Alan.” It ■ was .the universal Man, the Man with .a message of love for all humanity, who ivas born, in the Bethlehem manger. The .glory which the shepherds saw as they watched their fjodks by night flooded the world with light. The. whole earth was sunned with the. .radiance...of heaven. Christ came to everybody, and So everybody can come to Him. The-.message of the manger is a message bf hope—of. hope for' the common life.;of man. Is'not--that'-a message for which men thirst? If Jeeus was bornin a manger then He can be found anywhere, and He can be served anywhere. If you and I were to imagine appropriate conditions for the incarnation of . Gtfd. surely we should picture a child of royalty orvof other exalted ancestry. We should have, a pomp and display ;that would at since- attract all eyes. But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. The Saviour of the-world was born not- in cultured Greece, nor. splendid Italy,- but '.in-a despised and-distant province of the .Rotpan.Empire; .not in.its most beautiful and central city, but in one of the poorest of its villages; and not in the best house of the village, but- in a - barn. . The Prince of Heaven-was -not.'laid by glistening.. angels upon a'golden bed or in a satin-lined cradle. , Not in a palace of the Caesars, surrounded by the greatest of the land. Born in a stable, rather, and cradled in a manger. The habitation Of, His. spirit, a npOr; peasant woman. ' Hie . life was in. harmony , with His birth; ...He slept- in huts where poor men dwelt. . His friends and disciples were fishermen and such-like. .His talk w‘as about common things. He, .ate' the Last Supper ■ in. a humble room, and He had to borrow- that/ ‘ -And" it was on a ■rough cross He -hung at last when .He gave His life away. At the beginning, and. all-the way through, Jesus identified. Himself with the common lot of men. .What, a message of reassurance and hope , this is for those who travel the common ways of life. ... ' , _• The most famous picture of the Bethlehem scene is “The Holy Night,” by Correggio. The child lies upon the straw, the mother bending over Him. The wondering .shepherds are near, ..and. in. the background ate the cattle. ' It is,,night, aid there is •only - ' one feeble- -lantern m the place.. Rufc from the,infant Child a radiance . streams which light? up ell the rude scene. ■■ •It is more— than 'S picture. It is^a' paieablc; 'Prom the manger" and from the /life ..of> Jeeus the light streams upon ; the common ways -of lire. ’ Tn that- light, prCsaic- things/are transfigured. Drudgery for .His sake becomes divine, toil becomes sacred, any occupation becomes a vocation, • - Th'e daily round oL life was the/natnway of the:eternal. In the light of that tremendous' fact there are .no - common men and: 1 there is no common task.- Every life may-be ..redeemed’ from .narrowness and ;■ , . Thc raessagd of the manger la the message,, of -faitlj. • I .think of the faith of the. shepherds. It is said .that returned glorifying and. praising -God.. They praised and glorified the FafKer in heaven “for 'all-, that they.-’bad seen. And what had they seen? A human child and nothing more? Then how grotesque the thrilling stoty scene? Then what a barren travesty the whole sublime event becomes! No. they had somehow seen on. that babe- the .superscription of th'e Divine, they had .seen in Him "A Savour which is Christ the Lord.’ They went back to their fields and their fiocksi The old routine began-once mere. No wonder that, it seemed' dull after what they had heard and seen; Gone, the angels. No more the in the. shies. But tbe Divine Child remained. And they took up their old familiar life ■ 'again';with a" new• song,ort-their-lips and a. new spirit in their hearts. This was ■faith at its best. , As I think of the faith of these shepherds; and of the increasing multitudes since, who not having seen, have believed, my faith in the final triumph of Christ grows strong. Christmas is gaining ground. -This year the company kneeling at- the manger side will, 'be greater. We arc told that.after the star-led wise men bad come and seen the_ Babe of Bethlehem, “They departed Jlnto their own country another way.” -c suggests the thought that we may all return to our own places “another -way” - with another spirit, if we will but take / to. ourselves the message of the manger, which ia the message of love and hope and fnith. —H. Porter.

SUN-DAY SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. NORTH-EAST VALLEY PRESBY-

TERIAN,

• Christmas festivities commenced early in the North-East Valley Presbyterian Sunday school, when on November 23, the primary ■ department held_ its .party. Present .as guests were the children from Upper Junction and some of their parents, and ;a happy time was spent together playing games on flic green. Then came the call to tea, 'and what child is there whose heart does not give an extra jump at the thought of what might be provided in a tea party! , The tables looked very inviting, with blue and lemon decorations, while balloons suspended from the ceiling gave a festive appearance to the room. After all the good things had, speedily disappeared, games were played outside while the tables .were cleared. Then all gathered inside again to listen-very attentively to a story told by the minister,, the Rev,; George Miller After the story there Vas a' loud knock .at the door, .and when if was opened by a little girl, there was Santa Claus standing there. He had brought a bag of lollies and nuts fbr everybody, and a very big'stocking full of gifts for a little boy who had been sick. Santa Claus sang a song. and ;> then disappeared. Then another good friend appeared and presented each boy and girl ■ with a pencil Some folders and.posters which-had been prepared were presented to our guests from Upper Junction, and a happy time was brought to a close with family worship ■ The junior department held its party on December 7, when a large number of boys and girls and parents gathered together, and time passed very quickly in games, items, and story, until supper arrived. No one knows better than a junior how to do full justice to the good things provided at supper. The wet night had not damped anyone’s spirits, or lessened their appetites. After supper family worship was conducted, and the happy people dispersed. The intermediate party was held on December 10, when a fair number of parents accompanied- the children. Games and items filled the time very happily, and if noise counts for anj-thing, those present enjoyed themselves very much. As in the other departments, after supper the evening was brought to a close with family worship. The beginners met on Saturday afternoon. December 14, and after some time spent in games, the children sat down to tiny tables, and looking very gay with paper bats, enjoyed themselves immensely with the good things. It was a very happy sight to see all these tiny tots sitting at their little tables. Then'games were- played on the green while the grown-up folks had tea. Then came the most important event of the night, when the screens were removed and- a Christmas tree, gaily decorated, was brought to view. Very proudly the little children carried from the Christmas tree to their mothers the calendars they had made for them, and-then each-child received a-

gift, skipping ropes for the girls and mouth organs, for the boys. There was much, joyful music in the room when the tree was empty. Gifts were also presented to the leaders. of the other departments. After “ Happy Christmas ” was sung the party closed with the singing of a “ Tliank-you ” song. The festivities were not all for getting, however, and other folks were remembered at Christmas, Remembering the greatest gift of Christmas time the children tried to pass on to others some of their own happiness. Christmas services were held io nil the departments on Sunday, December 15, when appropriate hymns, solos and stories were given. In the primary department scrap books and books of folders had been prepared for sending to missionaries, and bouquets were sent to the leaders of the other departments, to the minister's wife, to teachers, and to Miss Drysdale. who told the Christmas story.. In the junior department a gift day was held, and after the story of the Wise Men had been told the children marched forward, bringing their gifts to Jesus, placing them in a white'basket at the foot of the Christmas tree drawn on the blackboard—a substitute for a real tree The gifts were many and varied: books, toys, handkerchiefs, potatoes, egga by the dozen, groceries, and vegetables. These have been sent to the Children’s Rest Home, and tp_ the Patients and Prisoners’ Aid Society, for Christmas cheer for less fortunate, boys and girls. Bunches of flowers were taken by the children to the sick and aged of the church. Thus the true spirit of Christmas was realised, and the boys and girls learned tho happiness of helping others.