—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 22, 1962
4
From Where We Stand.
Shepherds In The
“And there 'were m the same
country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flocks by
night
And, lo,'the angel of the Lord came
upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them, and they were
sore afraid.
“And the angel said ( unto them,
Fear not, for behold I bring you good
tidings of great joy which shall be to all
people
“For unto you is born this day in
the city of David, s a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord.”
This beautiful story from the Gos
pel according to St. Luke has become
one of the 'most beloved passages in all
written literature.
We believe it should hold particular
significance for rural people as this joy
ous season comes once again. God could
'have chosen anyone on earth, from the
great to the small, to be the first to hear
the good tidings of great joy, but he
chose the simple shepherds to receive
the divine proclamation from on high.
Then as in our day, all too many
of the great and near great, by the
standards of men, were so wrapped up
in their own concerns and fears that
they probably would not have heard the
message if it had been given to them,
or if they had heard, would not have
believed their ears. All too many of
them would have explained it away with
big, important sounding words and
would .have attached no significance to
the event.
All too many of them would have
continued in their mad race to amass
more of-the goods of the world and
would not even have had the time to go
to the place where he lay.
And so in this day, all too many
get bound up in the race for wealth or
power or position or status or pleasure
and have no time to turn toward Beth
lehem for more than a fleeting glance
It remains for the simple in faith,
needs, wants, desires to make the pil
grimage each December to. the manger
and hear the angels saying, “Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men ”
It remains for those of faith like a
little child to say as the shepherds of
old, “Let us go now even unto Bethle
hem, and see this thing which has come
to pass, which the Lord hath made
known to us.”
And it remains for the unsophis
tocatsd persons to do as the shepherds of
old when they “made known abroad the
Crop Yields i
To Top 1960
WASHINGTON’ The Ag
i u ulture Derailment leport
ed Tuesda \ that total ciop
pi oduction this yeai matche 1
the lecdd le'iel of 1960 des
pite the smallest acreage in
inodein times
In its final crop production
lepoit of the year, the depait
ment said recoid high yields
jiei ane for many crops was
the majoi factoi in raising
pi oduction to the lecord lex
el Earliei foiecasts this >cai
had indnated the volume
nould be about 3 5 per cent
below the record
Much land was retired fiom
n-,e this jeai under gox em
inent gram progiams
The report said fax oi able
gi owing weather in the (ent
lal part of-the nation-helped
coin and olhei feed grains
• •
Fields At Night
saying which was told them concerning
this child.”
But the angels said the message
was to be for all people. The Christ
Child came not only to the shepherds,
but to the wise men and, kings to
emperors and beggars. The story of
Christmas is not only for the -shepherds
but for all the people all over the world
wherever they may be.
May we wish for you the peace and
good will of which the angels spoke,
for if you have not this, all the material
gifts you may receive will be more
worthless than last year’s tinsel. But if
you have .the peace, joy, and good will of
this season all these others will be add
ed unto you.
At least that’s how it looks from
where we stand.
The president of the American
Farm Economics Association, George E.
Brandow, recently declared that federal
marketing orders would not effectively
control egg production at the present
time
Brandow says to make marketing
orders work there must be direct pro
production regulation, and at present no
effective way of administering such a
program has been devised.
Dr. Brandow, an economist at the
Pennsylvania State University says per
haps marketing orders will become more
workable as poultry farmers become
bigger and fewer with less direct re
tailing
Dr Brandow believes that the few
er poultrymen may become more strong
ly organized nationally and more favor
ably inclined towards marketing orders,
but at present he says “The most useful
purpose of a marketing order would be
to put a brake on the ‘plungers’ those
producers whose rapid expansion upsets
the market.”
We have said many times that one
of the best ways to get rid of govern
ment controls is for the farmer to put on
the controls himself. Rarely is there a
regulation passed unless there is some
need for it, but all too often, the law
does not get repealed when the need no
longer exists
The best way to get rid of any con
stricting legislation is to prevent its be
ing passed in the first place.
At least that’s how it looks from
where we stand.
pleach lecord yields per acre
Compaied with last yeai,
food grain, vegetables, tnut
and nuts showed some decline
in output, while other groups
included in the crop produc
tion pattern increased.
Acieage of the 59 major
crops planted or grown this
year totted 302 million acres
This was nearly 2 per cent
less than last year and the
lowest since the department
started keeping records in
1929.
Outlier Kptgs Often
Gather eggs in cold weathei
just as often as during sum
mer, reminds Carl Dossin,
Penn State extension poultry
.specialist It is important that
they are stored in a place
which is not subject to the
extremes of heat and cold
In many cases, a small room
partitioned oft in a corner of
the house cellar makes it
possible to provide excellent
conditions tor keeping eggs
at top quality.
Market Orders
John Keats, English poet,
was a surgeon and died o£
tnbeiculosis at the age of 26,
and Thomas Carlyle, physi
cian and Scottish essayist,
> ❖ ❖ -O-fl
Lancaster Farming
Lancaster County’s Own Farm
Weekly
P. 0. Box 1524
Lancaster, Penna.
P. 0. Box 266 - Lititz, Pa.
Offices:
22 E. Main St.
Lititz, Pa.-
Phone - Lancaster
EXpress 4-3047 or
Lititz MA 6-2191
Jack Owen, Editor
.Robert G. Campbell,
Advertising Director
Established November 4,
1955. Published every
day by Lancaster-Farming, Lit
itz, Pa.
Entered as 2nd class matter
at Lititz, Pa. under Act of Mar,
8. im. ' ' -l
Bible Material: Isaiah 8; 9-6-7; Luke
2.8-20; John 1.1-18; Hebrews 1.1-4
Devotional Reading: Luke 2:46-53.
God Gomes To Us
Lesson for December 23, 1962
THE truth about Christmas is
not to be -seen on the Christ
mas tree, not m the bargain-base
ment Santa Clauses, not in the
holly and the ivy, and not in every
Christmas carol. Yet some of the
carols tefl the
story truly; '‘lm
manuel has come
to thee . . .*’ or
“Thou didst leave
thy throne . .
or “Word of the
P’ather Now in
flesh appearing l *;
and others telling
the same story.
The deep truth
about Christmas is that the day
celebrates the coming of God to us.
The very name Immanuel means
“God with us.’’ Now it would not
at all be true to say that God had
never come to tlus world before;
he was here in creation, he has
been here in history, in the beau
ty and the order of all this vast
universe. The prophets, pne and
all, knew him, and the poets sang
of him. But what was new about
the first Christmas (and what it
began) was that now men, could
not only know thaf Go'd is, we
know what Gothis-like-T:- -" :I -
God is Expression
Jesus Christ is the translation
of God into the language of hu
man living. He is the Eternal in
the pattern of time. There are
philosophers who do not see how
the High God can possibly ex
press himself; but the Bible tells
us of a God who is not content
with expressing himself, he de
sires to communicate - with his
children. In John I Christrxstcallcd
the Word. He lived'to he f he lived
to fell. He is God’s messenger
but also he is God’s'raessage. The
Word—the Expression, the Mes
sage, the Communication—of God
“became flesh” ,on that first
Christmas. Anyone might have
thought that if God came to the
world he had made, to the people
he had made, in a new way,—
they might have thought it would
Now Is The Time . . .
dow for all farm products, thousands of
MAT M. SMITH people observe these exhibits each year.
Every exhibitor should make a special ef
fort for perfection in his or her display, this is just as true fit
fitting and training of livestock as in the selection of ears of
corn, potatoes, or leaves of tobacco. If the decision has been
made to enter the show, then be certain that your product i»
of the very best
other safety measure
To Be Careful AVith
Christinas Decorations
The Hohday Season is to be
~ Many fathers, mothers, and
a Joyful time for all members grandparentg are too
oif every family; many extra modern times to really
decorations, candles, and elec- enjoy their families and to
trie lights increase the fire actually spend time with then?
hazards aibout the home. Ex- children. The Holiday Season
treme care should be prac- might be a real good time to
ticed to eliminate open flame do this very thing; many
near decorations and ever- jbecojme, .grown .jm
"'greeff freest Christmas' ’ 1
tree kept well watered is an-
"*■ 3f '
be a new form of words, a I
theology; a new creed to beliß
But no—God expressed hinßj
above all in a man who was 9
a little baby. God’s Word toH
is put in the form we can unS
stand, in one who was made||
all respect like as'we are, a
without sin.” w
Sod Comes in Light d>
Poets and writers of Christy
carols have often made sometijj
of the Christmas-eve picture,||
dark hillside, no light anywffi
except for the stars overhead B
the one light in the stable. 9
Apostle John, writing his 9
Christmas story, says not™
about tiie inn or the stable orl
shepherds. But he does say soffl
thing about the light John!
thinking beyond Bethlehem to 9
generations yet to come. He Jfl
what the story of this child, grrfl
a man, this Gift of God to maS
what this Man, this Godman, !
mean to the race of man. H*m
the Light, God’s light, “light!
every man." John does not 1 1
to see that the picture has a d I
side. There were and there \
some who do not receive hi I
He is a Light shining in darknt I
The darkness never has und I
stood the Light, the darknfl
never has quenched the Ligffl
but yet the darkness is still thJ
To drop the parable a momifl
the coining of God to us in Chtl
the Light of the World, can ma
and does mean nothing at alls
those who will not see. !
Once we understand the mean!
of Christmas, the coming of Cj
to men, to all men who will til
and see, then we understand the
is something to be done about]
No one on whom the Light hi
shone can be content that it h
shone on him alone. Those v
have found the Light are boui
to spread the Light, indeed to i
(as Jesus said) the light.of tl
world themselves.
But if we stopped here, it wouH
leave us with a discouraging quel
tion. How can we be the light fl
the world? Again John points jfl
the answer. To those who receivß
the Light, God gives “power tS
become children of God.” By oun
selves, we cast a pretty feeble
light. By ourselves, we are wean
God’s “coming” is not like th|
coming of man. People come an®
go away, and we are not greatMi
changed. But when God comeij
and we open our lives to him, w|
begin to be changed from the
very core of our lives. As wr
share in the vision of God, so wi|
share in the power of the Go<| !|
who comes to us in Jesus.
(Bull on outlines copyrighted U
the Division of Christian Education
National ConncU of the Churches m
Christ in the U. S. A, Released if
Community Dress Service.)
BY MAX SMITH
To Practice Farm Pond Safety
Ice skating on frozen farm ponds is a
very popular winter-time sport, however, all
pond owners should be prepared lor a rescue
in case someone breaks through the ice; the
same rope, mnei-tube, board, or old ladder
that was used to protect swimmers last sum
mer should be kept near the pond during the
skating season These pieces of equipment
will expedite getting a skater out of the
water with little danger to others.
To Prepare Farm Show Exhibits
State Farm Show is a grand show win-
Contuuißd ,on- Page S4-*
To Hare A Happy
Holiday Season