AiO-LancMtar Fvralno, Saturday, Oacember 24,1988
OPINION
The Christmas Story
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 Cyree-ni-us 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 called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house
and lineage of David;) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the
days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she
brought forth her first-bom 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 bom this day jn 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 in a manger. And when they had
seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them con
cerning the child. All they that heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined.
For unto us a child is bom, unto us a son is given; and the govern
ment shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Won
derful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.
Farm Calendar
Tuesday, December 27
Lebanon County 4-H Livestock
Winter Roundup Beef & Sheep
Show, Lebanon Fairgrounds,
7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 28
Lebanon County 4-H Swine Show,
Lebanon Fairgrounds, 8:30
a.m.
Lebanon County 4-H Livestock
Sale, Lebanon Fairgrounds,
6:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 31
Deadline for Emergency Feed
Program Applications To Be at
ASCS Office.
Wednesday, January 4
County Tobacco Meeting Show,
Lancaster Farm & Home Cen
ter, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wayne Co. Dairy Reproductive
Management Seminar, Exten
sion Office, Honesdale, 9:30
a.m.
Schuylkill County Dairy Day,
Penn State Schuylkill Campus.
Thursday, January 5
Northeastern Weed Science Socie
ty Symposium, Stouffer Harbor
Lancaster Fanning
Established 1i C 5
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E Mam St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Slelnman Enterprise
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R Newswanger Managing Editor
Copyright IMIS by Lancaster Farming
Place Hotel, Baltimore. m ° b!,lz ® thei , r rcscrv f? and
SOILS PSU Course, 7:30 p.m. to reduce nsk of ketosis > which 18
9:30 p.m., Montgomery Co., * e excess Production of ketones.
4-H Center, Creamery, PA. accomplish this by feeding
Future of Lancaster Agriculture, ® ran ? B °f n *acin per cow per
Lancaster Farm & Home. 7:30 da /. startm | two weekB before
p m calving and continuing for 100
Lycoming Co. Annual Meeting, day B after calving.
Hoss’s Steakhouse, Check Barn
Williamsport. Ventilation
Saturday, January 7 Pro P er ventilation of all types
PA Farm Show, Harrisburg Farm livestock and poultry buildings
Show Complex, • through Jan. * s ver y i m P°rtant during the wint
-13 er months. When the warm,
Dauphin County Annual Meeting, moisture-laden air is not moved
Dauphin Co. Ag & Natural out of area, we usually see
Resource Ctr. condensation on the windows,
I FARM FORUM OUR READERS WRITE
Editor:
Thank you for printing the
information about the state lottery
plans, to use the Farm Show
audience.
I like to think life could be
simple, more honest" and direct.
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
To Take Inventory
An area of our operation that is
very important at this time of year
is inventory. With the close of the
year most of our farmers close out
their records for the year. This
means that if you are going to
have a Farm Analysis made you
should take inventory of all your
supplies.
You’ll need this to do any kind
of farm analysis, because the
amount of grains, hay and other
supplies that are in storage will
vary from year to year, and unless
this is taken into consideration,
you cannot have an accurate
analysis of your year’s operation.
So, as accurately as possible,
record the amount of hay, grains,
feed, seeds and fertilizer that are
on hand. This is the first step in an
accurate farm analysis.
To Evaluate Cows’
Need For Niacin
It is important for high produc
ing cows to consume enough feed
to support the amount of milk they
produce in early lactation, accord
ing to Glenn Shirk, Extension
Dairy Agent. Thus in an effort to
sustain their will to milk, high pro
ducing cows must draw upon their
body reserves in early lactation.
For this reason, it is very impor
tant to feed cows properly during
their dry period so they will be in
proper condition at calving time.
Researchers have found that
niacin (vitamin B 3) can help cows
Can’t we try a little harder to live
within our means and assume
responsibility for family
members?
If some elderly need help must
we resort to deceptive money
(Turn to Paga A3l)
walls and ceilings. Hus is espe
cially true with little or poor insu
lation. Exhaust fans will move the
air out, and protect the building.
During this time of year bams are
filled with livestock; these ani
mals give off large amounts of
body heat. When condensation
occurs it is a sign that some atten
tion is needed; in most cases it is a
problem with ventilation or with
insulation.
To Protect Orchard
Fruit Trees
While most of the hard work for
fruit growers may be over, it is
that time of the year for mice, deer
and rabbits to get busy.
On young trees preventive mea
sures are necessary. The most
effective way to prevent rabbit
damage is to use tree trunk guards
on individual trees. Cylinders of
THE 365 DAYS
OF CHRISTMAS
December 25,1988
Background Scripture: Luke
2:21-40.
Devotional Reading: Isaiah
35.
The three stories of what hap
pened after the first Christmas are
seldom read as part of the Christ
mas story, but that doesn’t make
them any less important to it.
After all, Christmas didn’t end in
the stable of Bethlehem. It con
tinued on through Jesus’ circumci
sion, the purification in the
temple, and the encounter of the
prophetess Anna - and even bey
ond that
Mary and Joseph celebrated the
birth of their son with typical Jew
ish rituals. The first of these was
circumcision, a ritual that ack
nowledged that Jesus shared in the
heritage of Israel that could be
traced by through Moses, Jacob,
Isaac and Abraham. It was in
accordance with this ritual that the
child was named Jesus as the
angel had specified. The second
ritual was the presentation of
Jesus in the temple, a rite by
which he was dedicated to God.
This included a sacrifice of “a pair
of turtle-doves or two young
pigeons.”
The third ritual was that of the
purification of Mary, for it was
held (Leviticus 12:6) that a
woman was “unclean” for seven
days after giving birth and should
remain in ceremonial isolation for
another 33 days. Today we find
this concept troubling, for it
implies that there is something
“unclean” about the God-given
gift of childbirth. Nevertheless,
Mary and Joseph faithfully per
formed the ritual.
TRADITION!
TRADITION!
The rituals Mary and Joseph
performed seemed utterly foreign
to us. But there is also something
54 -inch rneih hardware doth 18 to
24 inches high, set into the ground
surrounding the tree, will help pre
vent gnawing damage to the main
stem. The “self-wrapping” plastic
wrap also does an excellent job.
Another way to keep rabbits
and deer from chewing branches
and buds is to “paint” tree trunks
and limbs with a mixture of 5 to 6
pounds of powdered rosin in one
gallon of ordinary alcohol. Simply
use a whitewash brush to apply the
material. The rabbits and deer find
the rosin too gritty and aside from
an occasional nip will usually
leave the tree alone. Be sure to
apply the material to a height well
above the reach of the deer.
Penn State Cooperative Exten
sion is an affirmative action,
equal opportunity educational
institution.
to be said for the continuity ot
tradition. Would Jesus have been
any less the Christ if Mary and
Joseph had decided to skip any of
these rituals? I think not, just as I
am convinced our children today
would not be any less God’s child
ren if we failed to baptize. Still,
for Mary and Joseph, as well as
for Jesus, there was a “rightness”
about keeping their religious tradi
tions - as there is for us, too.
At the same time that they were
faithfully fulfilling their religious
traditions, there was also some
thing happening that can occur
within rituals, but also reaches far
beyond them. We can put human
fences around our rituals, but we
cannot lock-up the presence and
power of God’s Spirit. Because
Mary and Joseph kept a tradition,
God chose this occasion to pour
out his Spirit through Simeon. As
Luke tells us, “the Holy Spirit was
upon him” (2:25).
INEFFABLE SPIRIT
There are always rules and reg
ulations with rituals, but with the
Holy Spirit there are none. As
churches, we control the ritual$ >
deciding when, how, who and
why. But no matter whether we
are clergy or lay, or belong to this
church or that, we have no control
over the Holy Spirit. So, while the
rituals bring us a sense of conti
nuity and security, the Holy Spirit
brings us inspiration for which
even the best words are inadequ
ate: “Lord, now lettest thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy
word; for mine eyes have seen thy
salvation which thou hast pre
pared in the presence of all peo
ples, a light for the Gentiles, and
glory to the people of Israel”
(2:29-32).
The encounters with Simeon
and Anna helped Joseph and Mary
to realize that what had happened
to them in Bethlehem was not just
an event for them- to remember
with nostalgia, but a reality that
would stay with them after they
returned to Nazareth - indeed, for
the rest of their lives. Christmas
Day is but 24 hours, but the Incar
nation is something we can cele
brate and experience 365 days of
the year.
(Based on copyrighted Outlines produced
by the Committee on the Uniform Series and
used by permission. Released by Communi
ty & Suburban Press.)