St. Luke I. 26-36
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel
was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth,
To a virgin espoused to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord
is with thee: blessed art thou among
women
And when she saw him, she was troubled
at his saying, and cast in her mind what
manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary for thou has found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy
womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call
his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest - and the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his father
David
And he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there
shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall
this be, seeing 1 know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto
her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall over
shadow thee therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God
St Luke II 1-20
And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from Caesar
Augustus, that all the world should be
taxed
(And this taxing was first made when
Cyremus was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into
his own city
And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto
the city of David, which is Celled
Bethlehem, (because he was of the house
and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child.
P' 1972
The Christmas Story
And so it was, that, while they were
there, the days were accomplished that she
should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and
laid him in a manger; because there was
no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night.
And 10, 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 a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were
gone away from them into heaven, the
shepherds said one to another, Let us now
go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing
which is come to pass, which the Lord hath
made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying m a
manger.
And when they had seen it, they made
known abroad the saying which was told
them concerning this child
And all they that heard it wondered at
those things which were told them by the
shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and
pondered them in her heart
And the shepherds returned, glorifying
and praising God for all the things that
they had heard and seen, as it was told
unto them
I NOW IS
Iv
sft
I THE TIME
Max Smil
County Agr.,
Telephone 39'
To Get Tax Guide
and Agronomy Guide
At this time we have two very
important publications available
to local farmers. The Farmer’s
Tax Guide should be very helpful
in making out the 1972 Income
Tax Report; this is available
from the local Internal Revenue
Office or from our local Ex
tension Office. The Agronomy
Guide is published by our Penn
State Extension Service each
year and is one of the best
sources of information for most
major farm crops. We recom
mend it highly and hope that
every farmer can secure a copy.
Those not receiving a copy-by
mail by the first of the year may
pick up a Guide at our local
Extension Office.
To Order Farm and
Garden Seeds
It seems early to be thinking of
ordering seeds and supplies for
the 1973 growing season;
however the new year is ap
proaching rapidly and supplies
may be inadequate this coming
year to meet the demands.
Growners are urged to decide on
the variety and quantity of seeds
needed and place the order in the
next few weeks. Also, local farm
and garden suppliers may ap
preciate early orders in order to
plan their work and avoid the
usual spring rush. Certified or top
quality seeds are always
recommended because there is
less danger of diseases and more
promise of good yields.
To Control Weeds
ufAlfalfa
During the past week we have
HOW FAR
TO BETHLEHEM?
Lesson for December 24,1972
ieckgreunrf Scripture: Jeremiah 23:5. 6.
33 T4~16; Matthew 2.1-12.
Oevorienel Reading Luke 7 69-79.
In a beautiful old English
Christmas carol, a young pilgrim
asks:
How far is it to Bethlehem?
And angels reply;
Not very far.
Of course, the answer to that
question depends
entirely upon your
point of view.
Chronologically
speaking, the first
Christmas took
place almost twen
ty centuries ago.
That’s pretty far.
Geographically
speaking, it is a
matter of several
thousand miles. Yet, fast jet air
craft can get you there in a day’s
time.
Commercially speaking, by the
time you read this column, it will
be only one more shopping days
until Christmas. As most shoppers
see it, that’s too close!
Historically speaking, for those
generations of people who waited
for the Messiah, it was a long,
long time.
So, how far is it to Bethlehem’
The days are coming
Actually, it is not a question of
time or distance. “Behold,” cried
Jeremiah the prophet, “the days
are coming, says the Lord, when
seen a number of spray rigs in
alfalfa fields applying the chick
weed herbicide to protect the
alfalfa plants. Late fall or early
winter is the best time to try and
kill these winter-time weeds. To
wait until next spring is not
suggested because the weeds will
be more mature and some
damage may have already been
done. With the higher prices of
hay this winter, which may
continue another year, we feel
that hay producers should make
every effort to get a bumper crop
next summer. Now is the time to
start by controlling the weeds.
Several sprays are suggested
depending upon the legume-grass
mixture and the age of the stand.
The Agronomy Guide includes
spray suggestions.
To Ventilate Barns
Many dairy bams need ad
ditional ventilation during the
winter months. Removal of ex
cess heat, moisture, and odors
leads to healthy animals, higher
quality milk, longer building life,
and more pleasant working
conditions. Exhaust fans are
often installed at one or more
places in the bam to pull out the
foul air. Details are available
from our Extension office and a
publication on dairy bam ven
tilation is available. Ventilation
in other buildings may also be
needed where animals or birds
are in total confinement. Open
fronted buildings provide their
own ventialtion if there are doors
and windows in the tight end of
the building that can be opened.
Condensation of moisture on
ceilings or walls is a sign that
more ventilation or insulation is
needed.
I will fulfill the promise I made
to the house of Judah” (Jeremiah
33:14). God had made promises
to the people of Judah and he
would keep those promises. It was
not important for them to know
when, but to trust that he would
do just as he said.
But you can’t live on promises,
you protest. Or can you? Jeremi
ah forsaw a great new day when
God’s Messiah would bring to
fruition all his plans and promi
ses. The people of his own day
would not live to see that day,
but they could keep on going be
cause they were assured that in
his own time God would make
their faith worthwhile. In a sense,
you might say, they drew strength
from a future event. They were
able to keep on because they
could draw strength from the
future coming of the Messiah.
Justice and righteousness
So it is this same opportunity
that Christmas brings to us. The
Messiah has come, but all the
promises concerning him are not
yet fulfiled: “.. .he shall execute
justice and righteousness in the
land” (33:15). No, that has not
yet happened, but just as we
know that Christ was promised
and did come, so we are strength
ened by the faith that these prom
ises also will be fulfilled in God’s
time. We can draw strength from
that future fulfillment yet to
come.
This was true even of the first
Christmas. On that day there was
born the Messiah so long awaited,
yet, although that day had finally
come, the fulfilment was not com
plete. The infant bom in Bethle
hem would first have to grow up
and become a man.
So, how far is it to Bethlehem?
In terms of miles and years, the
distance may be great, but in
terms of the spirit, the answer is
always “Not very far!”
(Eased on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A,
Released by Community Press Service.)