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STATg NORMAL SCHOOL.

ItOS ATlGElkES, cnii.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in

2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft

Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/christmasmakingOOmilliala

CHRISTMAS MAKING

CHRISTMAS
By

MAKING
J.R.MILLER.D.D.
AUTI-iO^l

O-

yVHtN THE

SONG BEGINS"
.,'vBHhhU
'

"THE INNER, LIFL c^C. ETC

'WS^K^

/^7 43

'

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HAKOLD COPPIING

H fITZNER.DAVE./

NEW YOPJS
THOMAS /CROWELL^d-

Copyright, 1906, 1907,

By THOMAS

Y.

CROWELL &

CO.

6.

Q_

TO THOSE EVERYWHERE

WHO LOVE

CHRISTMAS,

AND ARK
HAVE
ITS

WILLINO, TO LET THE LOVE OF CHRIST

WAY

IN

THEM

TO THOSE

WHO ARE

READY ALSO TO FORGET THEMSELVES AND TO

MAKE HAPPINESS FOR OTHERS TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THE WORLD BRIGHTER AND SWEETER, AND A BETTER PLACE
;

TO LIVE

IN,

THESE PAGES ARE CHEERFULLY

J.

DEDICATED.
R. M.
Philadelphia, U.
S.

A.

Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night Christmas in lands of the fir tree and pine,
Christinas in lands of

palm

trees

and

vine,

Christmas where snow-peaks stand solemn and white, Christmas where cornfields lie sunny and bright Everywhere, everyvfkCTfe, Cijristmas to-night.
Christmas where children are hopeful and gay, Christmas where old men are patient and gray, Christmas where peace like a dove in its flight,

Broods o'er brave men in the thick of the fight Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night.

For the Christ-child who comes is the Master of all. No palace too great, no cottage too small The angels who welcome Him sing from the height, "In the city of David a King in his might" Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night.

Then

let

every heart keep

its

Christmas within

Christ's pity for sorrow, Christ's hatred of sin,

Christ's care for the weakest, Christ's courage for right

Christ's dread of the darkness, Christ's love of the light -

Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night.

Phillips

Brooks.

^7

43
The
first

There were two

parts in the song the angels sang

the night Jesus was born.

part was an

outburst of praise to God.

highest."

" Glory to

God

in the

God should always be put

first in

first.

He

should be

our hearts,

first

in our love, first

It

in our worship, first in our trust.

was

fitting

that the
Gocl.

first

note of the angels' song should be to

Tlie great blessing of that night

gift to

was God's

unspeakable

men, and to God the highest

" Glory to God."

honor should be raised.

Before

we

begin our rejoicing at the Christmas time

we

should bow reverently before

God and

praise him.

The second part

the meaning of
blessings
it

of the' angels' song referred to

Christmas to this world, to the

to the earth, to the

would bring
it

change
earth

and transformation
peace, good-will

would work.

"On

toward men."

We
ings.

always have a part in making our own bless-

friend wishes us a
5

happy birthday.

The

CHRIS TMA S-MA KING.

is

wish

sincere
it.

and there

is

a great heart of love

back of
take
it

But nothing
it

will

come

of

it

unless

and make

real in our
us.

own

life.

we God has

most loving thoughts for

ning good for us.

He

is

always plan-

Yet even God can put his good

things into our hearts and lives only through our personal acceptance and appropriation of them by
faith,

and our assimilation of them in our conduct

and character by obedience.

Christmas as a day in the calendar comes in
season, whatever our response
it,

its

may
rain,

be.

God
But

sends

like his sunshine

and his

on the

evil

and

the good, on the just and the unjust.

Christ-

mas

in its divine
it

meaning will become

real to us

only as

reenacts itself in our

own

experience.

An

old seventeenth-century poet, Angelas Silesius,

:

writes

" Though Christ a thousand times

In Bethlehem be born,
If he's

not born in thee,

soul
is still

Thy

forlorn.

" The cross on Golgotha

Will never save thy soul,

The

cross in thine

own

heart,

Alone can make thee whole."

Christmas

is

the gladdest of all the

Christian

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
festivals.

7
the earth.

It brings a great joy to all

all

It

is

for

men.

There

is

scarcely a

home

so

lowly, in such neglect and poverty, but the Christ-

mas

spirit

touches

it

with some
carries

little

brightness,
it

and the Christmas love

into

little

breath of warmth, a thought of gentleness and kindness.

There

is

scarcely a life so desolate, so cut off

so

from companionship,

without the blessing of

it

human

love,

but Christmas finds

with some

tenderness, some sense of kinship and fellowship,

some word

of

sympathy and

cheer,

some token of

thought, something to brighten the dreariness and

soften the hardness.
little

The day makes nearly every

It is observed in

child in the land happier.

every home.

Think

of the millions of dollars that

are spent in preparation, in buying gifts, from the

simplest toys
presents

among

the poor, to the most costly

among

the rich.

There

is

no need to plead

for the observance of Christmas.

But there would

real

seem to be need for serious thought about the

meaning of the day and the way

to

make

it

what

we may make
from
it.

it,

so as to get the

most we can

How

did the world come to have a Christmas ?

it

God gave

to us.

It

was

his gift.

The
is

story

is

told in the

New

Testament.

There

one great

CIIRISTMAS-MAKING.

verse which tells

how

it

came

"

God

so loved the

world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that

whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but

have everlasting
the heart of God.
it

life."

Christmas thus began in

for
it

The world did not ask

was God's own thought.

loved us.

We

love because he
bright-

first

All the love that

warms and

ens this old earth was kindled from the one heavenly-

lamp that was lighted the

first
first

Christmas night.
Christmas was the

The Child that was born that

Son of God.
his Son.

God

so loved the world that he gave

Think

of the beginning

how small
in

it

was.

It

was only a baby, a baby among the poor.

where the baby was born,
cattle all about.
first sleep,

Think

a stable, with the

slept its
cattle

Think where the baby

in a little box, out of

which the

ate their fodder.

All the circumstances were lowly

side.

and homely on the earth

The
world.
little

first

Christmas did not mean

influence

much

in the

Its

did not reach out far.

company

of lowly shepherds, keeping their

watch

in the fields,

were the only persons outside,

so far as

we

are told,

who heard

of the wonderful

event, or
first

came

to look at the new-born Child.

The
its

Christmas touched the shepherds with

CHRISTMA S-MA KING.

wonder and with
its

holy sentiment.

But with

this
if

exception the great world slept on that night as

nothing was happening.

its greatest

The world does not know

its

hours nor mark

most stupendous

events.

Within the lowly

lay, there

cattle-shed,

where the Baby

seemed

was nothing which

at that time

unusual.

There was no divine splendor, such as

expect to see in the face of one

we would

who was
the

the Son of God.

of love in the

The only
in, all

light

was the shining

peasant mother's face.

that they

When

shepherds came

saw was a new-

born baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in

a manger, and a quiet couple,

Mary and Joseph,

Yet that was the

bending over
beginning.

it

in tender love.

It

was a

real Christmas.

There

is

a picture in the Dresden gallery, the

Madonna

di

San

Sisto,

which represents the Child

in the arms of the mother, surrounded

by clouds.

closer view, however,

shows that the clouds are

turned toward the Holy

myriads of angel
Child.

faces, all
is

The

picture

true.

There must have been

hosts of angels round the manger, every one turn-

ing his

face

with
It

adoring wonder toward

the

infant Saviour.
to earth.

was a

bit of

heaven

let

down

10

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
of Christmas was.

Think what the problem

and sorrow of earth
heaven.
It

The

mission of the Christ-Child was to change the sin

into the holiness

and the joy of

Earth was very unlike heaven that night.

of selfishness, of cruelty, of strife, of

was a place

sin, of

wrong, of oppression, of sorrow.

slaves.

Millions

of

men were

There was depravity that

reeked to heaven.

Governments were tyrannous.

little.

Home meant
women
was
love.

but

Here and there a few

praying souls thought of God, and a few

lived pure and gentle lives.

men and

But the world

full of sin.

Love

of course there was natural

Love,

Mothers loved their children, friend loved

friend.
love,

But the great multitudes knew nothing of

as

we now understand the word.

first

Christian love, was born that

Christmas night.

Love of God, God's own

love, a spark of God's life,

came down from heaven

born.

to earth
it

when Jesus was

:

Christina Rossetti puts

" Love came

thus

down

at Christmas,
;

Love all lovely, love divine Love was born at Christmas, Star and angels gave the sign.
" Love shall be our token,

Love

Love be yours and love be mine, to God and all men.

gift

Love for

and plea and sign."

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.

11
this tiny

What was
among
should

the problem ?
its

It

was for
out

spark of love to work

way
it,

among men,
purified,

the nations, until all the life of the earth

be

touched

by
This
of a

changed,

sweetened, softened.

is

part of what Jesus

meant when he spoke

might work

woman

putting a

little
it

morsel of leaven in a great mass of dough, that

its

way through

the whole lump.

We

have the problem stated in the words of the angels'

song,

"On
is

earth peace,

good-will

toward men."

That

what the coming

was
to

of Christ to earth in hu-

man

flesh

do

to make
it

peace and to put

into all men's hearts good-will.

" Peace."

This

is

a great word.

As we

read the

New

Testament we find

used, for one thing, to

denote the reconciliation of

justified

men

to God.

"

Being

by

faith,

our Lord Jesvis

we have peace with God through Christ." Peace with God enmity

given up, will submitted, sins abandoned, and obedience to

God made

the law of

life.

As we

read on,

we

find that peace

means

also the peace of

God

in

the heart, Christ's peace

ruling in the

life.

To

have this peace

of Christ.

is

to be well

advanced

in the school

Jesus said that in wearing his yoke

shall find rest in our souls.

and learning of him we

Peace means also peace with each other, peace

12

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
terrible Eastern
is
still

among men. Remembering the late

war,
it

would seem that universal peace

far

away, an impracticable and impossible dream.

Yet

that was the problem of Christ's mission announced

the

first

Christmas night
is

"On earth peace."

will be

There

no doubt that the problem

worked

out in the end.

One

of the prophetic visions of the

Messiah's reign represents the peoples of the world

beating their swords into ploughshares and their
spears into pruning-hooks.
ance, " Nation shall not
lift

Then we have this assurup sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more."

of peace

picture

shows a cannon lying

at its

in a

meadow, and a
picture
is

lamb nibbling grass

ideal, for the

mouth.

The
still

not

implement of war

exists,

though

unused.

The

prophet's picture

is

better

the
are

sword no longer a sword, but made into a ploughshare,

an emblem of husbandry, and the

soldiers'

spears

hammered

into

pruning-hooks which

used in di'essing the vines.

that the day
is

There are intimations

not far distant

when war

shall
differ-

cease from the face of the earth and

when

ences between nations

shall

be

settled

by the

arbitrament of love, and no longer by an appeal to

battle.

"Good-will toward men."

The

best definition

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
of these words
is

13

love.

Jesus put

it,

"As

have

loved you, that ye also love one another."

To

have good- will toward men

merely those who love
love us.
of the
us,

is

to

love

but those

men not who do not

ever
like

An

English bishop said the best definition

of love to

commandment

seen was given by a plain woman,

men he had " To love

God

is

to love people

also to love those

we don't like." It means who do not like us. It means to

Good-will to
all,

forgive

not

three times, nor seven times, but

seventy times seven.

only charity toward

men means

not
all

but sincere interest in

men, the seeking of the highest good of every man.

Some one

writes

" Cultivate kindness of heart

;

think well of your fellow-men

look with charity

upon the shortcomings

don't forget the kind

in their lives;
;

do a good

turn for them as opportunity offers

and, finally,

word

at the right time.

How

much such
appreciation

a word of kindness, encouragement, or

means

to others sometimes,
it
!

and how

little it costs

us to give

If

we

really have in our hearts good-will to men,

we

shall not only

wish every one

well,

but we shall
It

seek every opportunity to do good to every one.

will

make us good

neighbors, kind, obliging, ready

always to lend a hand, to do another a good turn

14

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
there
is

When

sickness or trouble in the

home

of a

neighbor,

we

will

show our sympathy by rendering

Of a kindly man
side of the road,

any service that may be needed.

it

was said that he lived by the

that he might be
to help them.

among people and have a chance It is in practical ways that good-will

It

to

men shows

itself.

does not wait to do large

things, but heeds the calls of need as they come,

however small they may

writes the lesson into a

be.
little

Norman MacLeod
creed
:

" I believe in liuman kindness,

Large amid the sons of men,
Nobler far in willing blindness

Than

the censure's keenest ken.

I believe in self-denial,

And

its

secret throb of joy

lives

In the love that

through

trial,

Dying
"

not,

though death destroy.

I believe in love

renewing

All that sin hath swept away,

Leavenlike

its

work pursuing
;

Night by night and day by day

In the power of
its

remodelling,
reprieve.

In the grace of

its

In the glory of beholding

Its perfection

believe."

The problem
born was

of Christmas the night Jesus

was

to set all this

good-will to

work in the world.

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.

16

A great deal has been

done in these long Christian

centuries in the carrying out of this programme.

In Christian lands there

beautiful in the

is

much
all

that

is

very

way the
in

poor, the old, the blind,

the

orphan,

the sick,

and

unfortunate ones

are cared for,

and

the spirit of kindness and

All this has

charity which prevails in society.

been brought about by the diffusion of the love of

God among men.

been wrought

What

marvellous changes have

may

be seen by comparing Christian

countries like England and America with heathen

lands like China and Africa.

But the work

is

not

yet finished.

The whole world has not yet been

transformed into the sweetness, purity, and beavity

of heaven.
is

Where most has been done

bring the subject closer home.

there

still

much

to do.

We may
After
us.
all,

What

is

our personal part in the making of Christmas ?

that
is

the most important question for

We

cannot do any other one's part, and no

other can do ours.

Some

j)6ople

spend so much

time looking after their neighbor's garden that the

weeds grow in their own and choke out the plants

and
flowers.

What
is

about the

little

patch of God's
If the prob-

great world that

given us to tend ?

lem

of the church is to

make Christmas

in every

16

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.

part of the earth, one small portion belongs to every

one of us.

Each one should seek

his

to

make Christmas
Christmas
is

first in

own

heart and
life of

life.

Christlike-

ness.

The

heaven came down to earth in

Jesus and began in the lowly place where he was

born.
Is there

any measure of that same sweet,

It

gentle, pure, quiet, lowly life in us ?

ought to
get the

be a very practical matter.

Some people
its

sentiment of love; but the love fails in

working

out in their disposition, conduct, and character.

The kind
that will

of love a Christian wants

itself in deeds.

is

something
tells of

show
little

Some one

seeing a

lame dog trying to climb up the curb-

stone from the street to the pavement.

But the

poor creature could not quite reach the top

he
and
hiin.

would always

fall

back.

A
No

hundred people passed

at his efforts

by and watched the dog, laughed

failures,

and went

on.

one offered to help

Then a working man came

looking man.
getting

along, a rather rough-

He saw
his

the dog and pitied him, and

down on
little

knees beside the curb, he

lifted the

creature

up

to

the sidewalk, and

then went quietly on.

true spirit of love.

That man possessed the

is

That

what Christ would

as unmistakably

have done.

Love

is

shown quite

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
in the

17
he

way

man
his

treats a

dog as

in the spirit

shows toward

own

fellows.

Christmas

letter

has this sentence, referring to

:

some things that had not gone quite right

have been mistakes, but this
to forget them."
is

" There

a good time of year

That
forget

is

part of the teaching of

Christmas

to

the mistakes others have

off

made, as well as our own, to wipe

records of any wrongs others

the slate the

us,

may have done

on
us.

any
one

injuries they
tells of

may have

inflicted

Some

a certain tree in a tropical country

which when struck and bruised bleeds fragrant

balsam.
us,

So

it

should be with us when others hurt

smite us with unkindness

if

we

bleed,

we
in
is

should bleed love, not anger, not bitterness.

Christmas

is

a good day to forgive any

St. Paul's

who

any way have done us harm.

not to let the sun go

counsel

down upon our wrath. Surely we should not let the sun of the Christmas Eve go down on any feeling of anger or bitterness,
any grudge or hatred,
in our hearts.

Everything

that

is

unloving should be

swept

away

as

we

pray, "Forgive us our debts, as

debtors."
"

we

forgive our

Now bury with the dead years conflicts dead, And with fresh days let all begin anew."

18

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
should not forget the word " peace," in our

We
lesson.

"On

earth peace."

We

should seek for

It
is

the things which make

for peace.

easy to

misunderstand others, even our dearest friends.

One may hold

shut out
all

a penny before his eye so that

it

will

the beautiful sky, all the blue and all

It is easy, too, to

the stars.

make

little

offences

grow large as we

brood over them, until, held up

before our face, they hide whole fields of beauty

and good

in the lives of our friends.

An unpleasant

word
fret

is

spoken thoughtlessly by some one and we

it,

and vex ourselves over

it,

lying awake all night

it

thinking of

and by to-morrow

has grown into

what seems an unpardonable wrong that our friend

has committed against us.
different

But

Christ's

way

is

he turns the other cheek.

if

He

forgives,

he forgets, he blots out the record and goes on loving just as before, as

nothing had happened.

The Christmas
short to

spirit teaches us to deal in the

us.

same way with those who injure

Life

is

too

mind such hurts, which ofttimes are as much woundings of our own pride or self-esteem
as real injuries to us.

In any case, heavenly love

ignores them.
of social
life,

One
of

says, "

The hurts

of friendship,

household familiarity, must be

ignored, got over, forgotten, as are the hurts, the

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
wounds, the bruises, the scratches of
thorns on our bodies."
" Life
is

19
briers

or

too short for aught but high endeavor,

for spite, but long

And

enough for love. on forever and forever; It links the worlds that circle on above 'Tis God's first law, the universe's lever, In his vast realm the radiant soul sighs never, Life is too short.' "

Too short

love lives

'

we would make it really Christmas in our own hearts, we must learn to forget ourselves and
If to think of others.

We

must stop keeping account

and begin

of

what we have done

for other people,

to put

down

in place

what other people have done

to them,

for us.

We

must cease thinking what others owe

and that
to

to us,

and remember what we owe and

we owe
give of

Christ and the world the best

life

we have

love.

We

must give up chafing

about our rights and begin to rejoice in giving up

our rights and doing our duties.
that the best thing about rights

Some one
is

says

that they are

our

own and we can

sit

give them up.

We

must no

longer

on

little

thrones and expect people to

show us honor, attention, and deference, and to bow down to us and serve us, but, instead, mus^ get

down
ways.

into the lowly places of love

and begin to
the lowliest
did.

serve others,

even the lowliest, in

is

That

the

way our Master

20

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
book

by a

brilliant

writer,

about keeping

Christinas, contains this paragraph,

which

is

worth
con-

quoting: " Are you willing to stoop

sider the needs to

down and

and the desires

of little children;

remember the weakness and

are growing old;
to

loneliness of people

who

stop asking

how much

your friends love you, and ask yourself whether

you love them enough

to bear in

mind the things

;

that other people have to bear on their hearts

try to understand

to

what those who

to trim
less

live in the

same

house with you really want, without waiting for

them
give

to tell

you

your lamp so that

it

will
it
;

more

light

and

smoke, and to carry

fall

in to

front, so that

your shadow will

behind you

make a grave
you willing

for your ugly thoughts,

and a garden

for your kindly feelings, with the gate open

to

are

do these things even for a day?

Then you can keep Christmas."

We
before

must make Christmas

first in

our

we can make

it

for

any

other.

own heart grumpy

person, a selfish person, a tyrannous and despotic

person, an uncharitable, unforgiving person, cannot

enter into the spirit of Christmas himself

and can-

not add to the blessing of Christmas for his friends

or neighbors.

The day must begin

But
it

within, in one's

own

heart.

will not

end

there.

We

must

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
be a maker of Christmas for others or

21

we cannot
need the

make
If

a real Christmas for ourselves.

its

We

sharing of our joy in order to

real possession.

we

try to keep our Christmas all to ourselves,

we

will miss half its sweetness.

"The Holy Supper

Not what we
give,

is

kept indeed,

In whatso we share with anotlier's need

but what we share,

is

For the

gift

without the giver

bare."

There would seem not to be any need at the

Christmastide to say a word to urge people to be

kind to others and to do things for them.

Every-

body we meet at

this season carries

an armful of

mysterious bundles.

For weeks before the happy

all

day the stores are thronged with people buying

sorts of gifts.

To

the
sent,

homes of the
with
their

poor, baskets

by hundreds are

provision for

Christmas dinners and their toys for the children.

The

spirit of giving is in the

very

air.

Even the

churl and the miser are generous and liberal for the time.

Everybody catches the

spirit of giving

for once in the year.

But
others.

this is not the only

way

to

do good, to help
says, " It's very

In a story a good

man

hard to know how to help people when you can't

send them blankets, or
coal, or

Christmas dinners."

22

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.

With many people this is very true. They know of no way of helping others save by giving them
material
things.

Yet

there are better ways of

doing good than by sending a dinner, or clothing,

or a picture for the wall, or silverware for the
table.

One may have no money

cheer,

to

spend and yet

help others

may

be a liberal benefactor.

We may
at

by sympathy, by

by encouragement.
Thanksgiving time
said that that

A good
for

woman when asked

all

what she was most

above

grateful,

which,

other things, she was thankful

for at the end of the year

was courage.

She had

been left with a family of children to care for and

the burden had been very heavy.

Again and again

she had been on the point of giving up in the despair of defeat.

But through the cheer and encour-

agement received from a friend she had been kept

brave and strong through
all

the trying experience.

It is a great thing to
is

Her courage had saved

be such an encourager

her.

there
in

no other way in

which we can
giving them

lielp

most people better than by

courage.

Without such inspiration

their
far
is

many persons sink down fail. To many persons

think, life
faint in
is

struggles

and

to
it

more than we
easy for them to
is

very hard, and

the way.

What they

need, however,

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
not to have the load lifted
off,

23

or to be taken out

of the hard fight, but to be strengthened to go

victoriously.

on

The help they need

told,

is

not in temporal

things, but in

sympathy and heartening.

Jesus never sent people
fires,

So far as we are

blankets to keep them warm, or fuel for their

or Christmas dinners, or toys for the children.

Yet

there never was such a helper of others as he was.

He

had the marvellous power of putting himself

under people's loads by putting himself into people's

lives.

There

is

a tremendous power of helpfulness in

true sympathy, and Jesus sympathized with all sor-

row and

all

hardness of condition.

He

loved people

that was the great secret of

felt

his helpfulness.

He

men's sufferings.

In

all their afflictions

he was

my heart would break with the sorrows of the world." He was blamafflicted.

One

said, " If I

were God,

ing

God

for pernjitting such sufferings, such calami-

ties,

such troubles, as daily history records.

cruel to look on in silence

He

said

God was

and not put a

stop to these terrible things.

" If I were God,

my

heart would break over such anguish and pain as

are in the world."

He did not understand

that that
it

was

just

what the heart of Christ did

broke

with compassion, with love, with sorrow, over the

world's woes.

Thus he was enabled

to

become the

24:

CHRISTMA S-MA KING.

world's Redeemer.
others

He was

a marvellous helper of

not

by giving material things, but by imIt is right to

if

parting spiritual help.

give gifts at

Christmas they do good,

they are carefully and

wisely chosen and are given with the desire to do

good.

But

let

us seek to be helpers also in higher

ways.

We

can help greatly by being happiness makers!

says, " Blessed are the happiness makers.

Some one

Blessed are they that remove friction, that

the courses of
life

make

smooth, and the intercourse of

is

men

gentle."

There

far

more need of

this sort

of help than most of us imagine.

We

think most
of

people are quite happy.

We have no conception
who

the

number

of people about us

are lonely, and

find their loneliness almost unbearable at such times

as the Christmastide.

Perhaps nearly every one of us knows at

one person

least

who

will

have no home on next Christ-

mas Day but

a dreary

room

in a boarding house
itself,
it

a pleasant enough room in

may

be, but

made dreary by the absence of home's loved ones. You do not know what a blessing you may be to this
homeless one
if

you

will in

some way put a

for

taste of

home

into his experience even

one hour on
near these

Christmas.

Jesus

has told us

how

CHRtSTMAS-MAKtNG.
lonely ones are to him.

25
it

He knew what

was to

have no place

to go at the close of the

off,

day when the

people scattered

every one to his

own

house,

leaving him alone, with no invitation to any one's

hospitality and no place but the mountains to go for

the night.

Then he

tells

ns that

if

we open our door

the same as
if

to a stranger

and take him

in, it is

we

had opened the door and taken

in Jesus himself.

He

is

pleased, therefore, when, in any loving way,

we make Christmas
homesick one.

little

less lonely for

some

word may be

said, too, to those

who
is

will be

alone on Christmas,

who

are

away from
There

their homes,

or have no longer any home.

way

in

which they can do much

for themselves.

to

make

the day brighter

Though no taste

or touch of

human

fellowship and friendship be theirs that day, they

need not grow disheartened.

says,

George Macdonald

"To
is is

be able to have the things

;

that
that

riches

but to be able to do without them

we want
This
is

power."

then the lesson of loneliit.

ness to

gain the victory over

life is to live

One
said

of the

problems of
stances

independently of circumSt.

and conditions.

Paul

he

had

learned in whatsoever state he was, therein to be

content.

The

secret

was

in himself.

He

carried

26
in his

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
own mind and
heart the resonrces he needed.
life

No
how

matter liow bare his

full of trials

and

sufferings, the peace

It

was of comforts, or and joy

within w^ere not disturbed.

may

not be easy for

the lonely ones, lacking the companionship and

fellowship of

home and
if

its

happiness, to go through

a Christmastide as
there
is

nothing were wanting.

Yet

a way to overcome in great measure the

want of fellowship.
ing of others

Much

can be done by think-

who

are lonely,

and doing what we

can to carry cheer to them.

forget our

In doing this we will

own

lonely condition.

Then we can

turn our heart-hunger toward Christ,

who
a

is

willing

always to give us his

for lonely people

joy.

Here

is

little

prayer

which some may

find fitting for

the Christmastide.

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR THE

LONELY.i

My

Father, I miss the gladness which

thine other children are

many of enjoying to-day. They

I

have their homes and friends and happy fellowships, while I

am

alone.

Yet may

have a joyous
Let

Christmas even without these bright things.

1

By

permission of TheYouth's Companion.

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.

27

me

not envy those

who have

the blessings which I

all bitter feeling, all

do not have.
complaining,

Save
all

me from

homesickness, and

all

unhappiness
to

because of

my

circumstances.

Help me
and

remem-

ber the loneliness of Jesus,

who was

born in poverty
to be con-

and found no welcome in

tented in
I

this world,

my

condition as he was in his.

pray for others

their

who
;

are lonely like

myself,

away from

homes

for the very poor to

little

whom

the day will bring but

gladness

for the

children whose dream of Christmas has been dis-

appointed;

for the sick, the

sorrowing,

and the

weary.

In the great wave of good feeling which

spreads everywhere to-day,

may some

touch of

human kindness
hungry
ones.

reach every one of these heart-

Grant

me

the privilege of carrying a

little

Christ-

mas

gladness to some

who but

for

me would go

unblessed.

Lead me

to one, at least, to

whom

kindly word will be a benediction.

cheer to one
privilege of

Let me give
Give me the

who

is

discouraged.

making

real to

some one the sweetness

Christ.

and warmth of the love of

So I pray,

my

Father, that this wondrous day

its glad, its

may not

pass without leaving something of

loving spirit in

my

heart,

and something of

28
quickening in

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.

my

life.

May
I

I get

new

vision of

the divine love.

May

be cleansed of the sin

which has
pages.
less

left its sad blots

I

on
live

all

my

old year's

May

from to-day
less

more beautifully,
hel])fully

selfishly,

wilfully,

more

than

ever before.

May

I find

comfort hereafter for

my
and

loneliness in closer companionship with Christ

in a life of love
I

and

service.

Grant these blessings,

beseech thee, in his name.

Amen.
Good-will

"Good-will

toward

men."
It

means
shall

kindness, sympathy, love.

means that we

have no

bitter feeling

toward any one, no unkind

thought, no dislike.

This

man who
Perhaps

jostled against
it

me to-day is my my fault as his.

in his

brother.
I

was

as

much

may have put myself

likely at least he did

obstinately
it

way.

Most
Let

uninten-

tionally.

me

then forgive him, or even ask

his pardon for being in the

way when he stumbled.

We may

read

the Gospels to see

to

how Jesus
do.

showed good-will

men, for he gave us the pattern

for every beautiful thing he

would have us

frown never came upon his face when some one had
been rude or unkind to him.

Nothing ever caused

him

to

show annoyance, however many things there

were to disturb and vex him.

The people were

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
selfish

29
about him.

and ill-mannered

in

pressing

They gave him no time to rest or to eat. even broke in upon him when he was at his
devotions.
failed.

They
private

But

his patience
ruffled

and kindness never

or

Nothing ever
or irritated

interrupted his

composure

him

in the slightest way. at his feet

They

told

him that the woman

her touch him.

was not

good, that her character was stained, and that he

should not

let

But he continued
if

his

gracious kindness to her as

best

she had been the

perse-

woman

in the land.

They hated and

cross

cuted him, hurt him and iusulted him, spitting in

his face, at last nailing

him on the

but he

went on That

loving, never complaining, never resisting,

showing no resentment.
is

what good-will
That
is

to

men means.

Can we

learn the lesson?

part of what our Christfeel

mas-making means.

On Christmas Day we
all

"kindly affectioned" toward

the world.

We

would not do harm to any annoy

or vex us.

one.

We

let

nothing

We

try to keep our spirit sweet

even amid the most irritating experiences.

give those who have wronged us.

We for-

We

give up grudges

and resentments.
be kind to those

We are glad of

any opportunity to
to us.

who have been unkind

The

problem

is

to

keep up this good-will to-morrow, to

30
take
it

CHRISTMAS-MAKING.
out with us into the
to
all

life of

the days after

Christmas, and

keep

on making Christmas

wherever we go

the days of the

new

year.

If

we do

all this it will not take long to bring in the

reign of love.

A
those

prayer has been suggested appropriate for

who

are lonely at the Christmastide.

It

seems
are

fitting to suggest also a

prayer for those

who

happy in their own homes or in

circles of friends.

A PRAYER FOR CHRISTMAS MORNING.

On
day
this Christmas

Day,

my

Father, I

come

to

thee with a glad heart.

fitly,

Help me

to observe the

with loving remembrance of the lowly

birth in Bethlehem

and the sorrows of him who and with grateful thanks

came

to bring redemption,

to thee for thy great mercy.

May this
away

be a true Christmas in

my heart.
unholy

Take
all

all unbelief, all bitter

thought and feeling,

all

resentment and unforgiveness,

desire,

and give me
kind, that
is

love, love that suffereth long

and

is

not provoked, that thinketh no

its

evil,

that seeketh not

ness.

own.

Save

me from

all selfish-

While

I gratefully receive the

Christmas

CHRIS TMA S-MA KING

blessings and enjoy them,

31

may my
may

heart be opened
inter-

toward
est.

all

the world in
life

sympathy and kindly

I go

Make my

a song, and

everywhere

with joy on
I

my
all

face

and on

pray for

those to

my lips. whom Christmas

brings

gladness, that their joy

of the divine love.
little

may

be enriched by thoughts

pray for the multitudes of

children everywhere, to

whom

the day means

it

so much,

who have been waiting

for

so long in

eager expectancy, and Avho will be happy with their

gifts

and with the love that blesses them.

pray also for those to
of

whom
their

the day brings

soli-

little

joy the
far

very poor, the lonely and

tai'y;

those

away from
sailors

homes, whose
love
;

hearts will not be

warmed by human
;

prison-

ers in their prisons

on the

sea,

and those

who know
homes and
they

not thee.

pray for the sick in their

in the hospitals, that in their suffering

may

be comforted by the remembrance of the

I

divine compassion.

pray for the bereft and sor-

rowing, to
ries,

whom

Christmas brings painful memoreal their sense of

loss.

making more

May

they find comfort in the thought of Christ's unfailing love.

May

this glad

Christmas leave
the love of

my

life

richer

and tenderer.

May

God henceforth

be

32

CHRISTMA S-MAKIKG.

more
care

May I be surer of and guidance. May my heart

real to

me.

the divine

be warmer

toward

my

fellows, tenderer in its

sympathy with
I live

human need and

more kindly
God's
Christ.
love.
life,

sorrow, and

may

a gentler,

because of this day's revealing of

Grant these favors through Jesus

Amen.

This book

is

DUE

on the last date stamped below

JAN 5

1931

&

DEC 1

aim

Form L-9-35m-8,'28