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K y r 1 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1963 THE PILOT—Southern Pines, North Carolina Some Looks At Books By LOCKIE PARKER Wishing our readers a happy Cbristmas, we odfer them this week a story of "The Holy Night." It was told to Selma Lagerlof, the gifted Swedish writer, by her grandmother, whose grand mother had told it to her. It was Christmas Day and all the folks had driven to church except grandmother and me; I be lieve we were all alone in the deny the man that which he ask ed. “ ‘Take as much as you need!’ he said to the man. “But then the fire was nearly burnt out. There were no logs or branches left, only a big heap of live coals; and the stranger had neither spade nor shovel, where in he could carry the red-hot coals. “When the shepherd saw this, he said again, ‘Take as much as WE The Public Speaking Page THREE :tBY PR. KIHNtTH J- FORflWAK, house. We had not been permit- you need!’ And he was glad that ted to go along, because one of ithe man wouldn’t be able to take us was too old and the other was too young. And we were sad, both of us, because we had not been taken to early mass to hear the singing and to see the Christ mas candles. But as we sat there in our loneliness, grandmother began to tell a story. “There was a man,’’ said she, “who was out in the dark night to borrow live coals to kindle a fire. He went from hut to hut and knocked. ‘Dear friends, help me!’ said he. ‘My wife has just given birth to a child, and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.’ “But it was way in the night, and all the people were asleep. No one replied. “The man walked and walked. At last he saw the gleam of a fire a long way off. 'Then he went in that direction, and saw that the fire was burning in the open. A lot of sheep were sleeping around the fire, and an old shepherd sat and watched over the flock. “When the man who wanted to borrow the fire came up to the sheep, he saw that three big dogs lay asleep at the shepherd’s feet. All three awoke when the man approached and opened their great jaws, as though they want ed to bark; but not a sound was heard. The man noticed that the hair on their backs stood up and that their sharp, white teeth glis tened in the firelight. They dash ed toward him. He felt that one of them bit at his leg and one at his hand and that one clung to his throat. But their jaws and teeth wouldn’t obey them, and the man didn’t suffer the least harm. “Now the man wished to go farther to get what he needed. But the sheep lay back to back and so close to one another that he couldn’t pass them. Then the man stepped upon their backs and walked over them and up to the fire. And not one of the ani mals awoke or moved.” Thus far, grandmother had been allowed to narrate without interruption. But at this point I couldn’t help breaking in. “Why didn’t they do it, grandma?” I asked. “That you shall hear in a mo ment,” said grandmother, and went on with her story. “When the man had almost reached the fire, the shepherd looked up. He was a surly old man who was unfriendly and harsh toward human beings. And when he saw the strange man coming, he seized the long, spiked staff, which he always held in his hand when he tended his flock, and threw it at him. The staff came right toward the man, but, before it reached him, it turned off to one side and whizzed past him, far out in the meadow.” Wlien grandmother had got this, far, I interrupted her again. “Grandma, why wouldn’t the stick hurt the man?” Grandmoth er did not bother about answer ing me, but continued her story. “Now the man came up to the shepherd and said to him:‘Good man, help me, and lend me a lit tle fire! My wife has just given birth to a child, and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.’ “The shepherd would rather have said no, but when he pon dered that the dogs couldn’t hurt the man, and the sheep had not away any coals. “But the man stooped and pick ed coals from the ashes with his bare hands, and laid them in his mantle. And he didn’t burn his hands when he touched them, nor did the coals scorch his mantle; but he carried them away as if they had been nuts or apples.” But here the story-teller was interrupted for the third time. 'Grandma, why wouldn’t the coals burn the man?’.’ “That you shall hear,” said grandmother, and went on: ‘And when the shepherd, who was such a cruel and hard-heart ed man, saw all this, he began to wonder to himself: ‘What kind of a night is this, when the dogs do not bite, the sheep are not scared, the staff does not kill, or the fire scorch?’ He called the stranger back, and said to him: ‘What Vind of night is this? And how does it happen that all things show you compassion?’ “Then said the man: ‘I cannot tell you if you yourself do not see it.’ And he wished to go his way, that he might soon make a fire and warm his wife and child. “But the shepherd did not wish to lose sight of the man before he had found out what all this might portend. He got up and followed the man till they came to the place where he lived. Then the shepherd saw that the man didn’t have so much as a hut to dwell in, but that his wife and babe were lying in a mountain grotto, where there was nothing except the cold and naked stone walls. “But the shepherd thought that perhaps the poor innocent ' child might freeze to death there in the grotto; and, although he was a hard man, he was touched, and thought he would like to help it. And he loosened his knapsack from his shoulder, took from it a soft white sheepskin, gave it to the strange man, and said that he should let the child sleep on it. “But just as soon as he showed that he, too, could be merciful, his eyes were opened, and he saw what he had not been able to see before and heard what he could not have heard before. “He saw that all around him .stood a ring of little silver-winged angels, and each held a stringed instrument, and all sang in loud Freedom For What? Lesson for December 29,1963 run from him, and that the staff had not wished to strike him, he was a little afraid, and dared not tones that tonight the Saviour was born who should redeem the world from its sins. “Then he imderstood how all things were so happy this night that they didn’t want to do any thing wrong. “And it was not only around the shepherd that there were an gels, but he saw them every where. They sat inside the grotto, they sat outside on the mountain, and they flew under the heavens. They came marching in great companies, and, as they passed, they paused and cast a glance at the child. “There was such jubilation and such gladness and songs and play! And all this he saw in the dark night, whereas before he could not have made out anything. He was so happy because his eyes had been opened that he fell upon his knees and thanked God.” Here grandmother sighed and said; “What that shepherd saw we might also see, for the angels fly down from heaven every Christmas Eve, if we could only see them.” Then grandmother laid her hand on my head, and said: “You must remember this, for it is as true, as true as that I see you and you see me. It is not revealed by. the light of lamps or candles, and it does not depend upon sun and moon; but that which is needful is that we have such eyes as can see God’s glory.” Bible Material: Mark 10:32-45; Galatiani 5 and 6. Devotional Reading: Romans 8:1-11. F reedom is a great word, a rousing word, one that in all times has thrilled the hearts and fascinated the minds of men. But it is also a misunderstood word. It is no more than half understood when people forget that freedom is both freedom from and freedom for.... Moses had his troubles with the Israelites on this point. All they could think of was getting out of Egypt. Free dom was their hope and dream Dr. Foreman But when they ac tually became free, when Egypt’s chains were broken, those Israel ites didn’t care for their freedom after all. They actually wanted to go back to Egypt. They discovered that freedom meant work, dan.ger, uncertainty, risk, and they pre ferred the protected assurances of slavery to the adventures of free dom. Freedom from whitl Freedom can be misunderstood on the other side. This is particu larly true of Christian living. All through the New Testament the reader seems to hear the bugles of freedom. Christians are re minded on page after page that freedom is good and that Christ came to set men free. But people then as now sometimes got a wrong idea about this. They sup posed that they were now set free from obligations, they “wore no man’s collar,” so to speak. Paul (among others) sets us straight about this. He underscores some thing quite different. Christ was not born to set men free from ob ligation to each other nor to God. On the contrary, the Christian more and more recognizes the duties, services, and ways of help which he can render to other people. The worst masters Being free from ourselves, wp are free from those tyrants uiat so cruelly dominate the lives of those who have lost touch with God. Fear, for one thing. Tho man who by God’s grace caa forget himself, even for a while, has a vacation from fear. Fear of death, of disgrace, of failure, of unpopu larity, of pain, of frustration. If you were asked, what is the great est evil, the harshest cruelty, un der which men suffer? What are the_ necessities to which men bow their heads—and their souls? You might well answer: Certainly two of the greatest enemies of peace and freedom in the individual life are fear and sin. When a man commits a sin, even one that hurts him personally, doesn’t he say, nine times out of ten, “I couldn’t help it”? When he stops to think why he fears death, doesn’t he say again, “I can’t help it”? That’s simply admitting to being a slave. Fear and sin are hard masters, cruel, relentless and ruinous. But the Christian in their presence is a free man. Freedom for what? But knowing this, or thinking about it two weeks in a row, as we have tried to do, does not clear up all the trouble we have in under standing what freedom means. The New Testament lays equal stress on freedom-for, as on free- dom-from. Paul puts it in a single sentence: “Through love be sei'- vants of one another.” To use free dom selfishly is to misuse it. To use freedom selfishly is to go back into slavery to oiu-selves all over again. To serve others in love is not a rule, but like the “golden rule” (of which it is a twin) it is a guide to the traveler through this tangled world. To serve oth ers is not to meddle in their af fairs. To serve others does not mean to force helpfulness on them. Serving others grudgingly, enviously, is to miss the mark en tirely. Serving in love is the right use of freedom. In a harbor of a great seaport, two ships are free. Each is being pulled by tugs. A sudden burst of wind snaps the line that ties one ship to one of the tugs. The ship is free, but unprepared; and it lurches, crashing into nearby craft, spreading destruction. The other ship, at the right moment, casts off its lines and is free—free to sail under power to the ends of the earth. Which ship is the better illustration of Christian freedom? (Based on outlines eoprriffhted by the Division of Christian Education, Nation'll Council of the Churches of Christ in the U, S. A. Released by Community Press Service.) G.E. APPLIANCES Sales & Service Vass TV & Radio Call Vass 245-7781 Schools: What Children i Need Should Be Test To The Editor: In this matter of education, it is not what the parents want, but what the children need. If a student is going to college, he needs college preparatory courses. If a student is going to pursue a career in one of the technologies, he needs technology or technical preparatory courses. If a student is planning a trade career, he needs trade prepara tory courses'. If the Southern Pines High School can provide this type of education, then I say, let’s not consolidate. If the Southern Pines High School cannot provide this type of education, then I say, let’s consolidate. At the present time, it does not provide this type of education. Perhaps no school can meet the needs of all the students; but it can certainly increase the per centage. THOMAS GREY, M. Ed. Class of 1947, Southern Pines High School Thanks Expressed For Backing Blood Program To the Editor: Had it not been for the excel lent cooperation given by the newspapers in Moore County, there is no question that the Moore County Blood Program would have failed to meet the conditions that had been estab lished as having to be accomplish ed through November. We want to thank The Pilot for the excellent articles printed and particularly for outstanding edi torials that so well supported the program. The newspapers have certainly fulfilled their obligation toward the interest and welfare of the citizens of Moore County. On behalf of the Moore County Blood Program and the many volunteers who have given of their time and efforts to support the program, we want to express our thanks and deep appreciation., J. R. HAUSER Chairman, Blood Program Next Sunday METHODIST CHURCH Midland Road A. L. Thompson, Minister Church School 9:45 a.m. Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Youth Fellow&hip 6:16 p.m. WSCS meets each third Monday at 8:00 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH New Hampshire Avenno Sunday Service, 11 a.m. Sunday Schoed, 11 a.m. Wednesday Service, 8 p.m. Reading: Room in Church Buildins open Wednesday, 2-4 p.m. *' A RRY. MERI^Y MANLY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Sunday School 10 a.ni.. Worship service 11 a.m. and 7 :30 p.m. PYF 6 p.m.; Women of the Church meetinff 8 p.m. second Tuesday. Mid-week service Thursday 7:80 p.m.. choir rehearsal 8:80 pjn. EMMANUEL CHURCH (Episcopal) East Massachnsetts Ave. Martin Caldwell, Rector Holy Communion, 8 a.m. (First Snndsys and Holy Days. 8 a.m. and 11 n.m.) Family Service, 9:80 a.m. Church School, 10: a,m. Morning Service, 11 a.m. Young Peoples’ Service League. 4 p.m. Holy Communion, Wednesday and Holy Days, 10 a.m. and Friday, 9:80 a.m. Saturday 4 p.m.. Penance. THE UNITED CHURCH OP CHRIST (Chnrch of Wide FellowsUp) Cor. Bennett and New Hampshire Carl E. Wallace, Minister Sunday School, 9:45 sjn. Worship Service. 11 ajn. Sunday, 6:00 p.m., Youth Fellowship Women’s Fellowship meets 4th Thursday at 12:80 p.m. —This Space Donated in the SANDHILL DRUG CC. SHAW PAINI ST. ANTHONY’S CATHOLIC Vermont Ave. at Ashe St. Father John J. Harper Sunday Masses 8, 9:1B and 10:30 a.m. Daily Mass, 7 a.m. (except Friday. 11:16 a.m.) ; Holy Day Masses, 7 a.m. and 5 ;30 p.m.; Confessions. Saturday. 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 8:80 p.m. Men’s Club meeting: 3rd Monday each month. Women’s Club meeting. 1st Monday. 8 p.m. Boy Scout Troop No. 873, Wednesday. 7:30 p.m. Girl Scout Troop No. 118, Monday I P.m. OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH Civic Club Baildinv Corner Pennsylvania Ave. and A.lt, g,. Jack Deal, Pastor Worship Service, 11 a.m. Sunday School, 9:46 a.m. L.C.W. meets first Monday 8 pjn. Choir practice Thursday 8 p.m. BROWNSON MEMORIAL CHURCH (Presbyterian) Dr. Julian Lake. Minister May St. at Ind. Ave. Sunday School 9:46 a.m.. Worship Servias 11 a.m. Women of the Church meeting. 8 p.m Monday following third Simday. The Youth Pellowebipe meet at 7 o*doek each Sunday evening:. Mid-week service, Wednesday, 7:80 p.m. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH New York Ave. at Soath Ashe St. Maynard Mangnm, Hlnlstar Bible School, 9:45 a.m.. Worship Servias 11 a.m.. Training Union 6:80 p.m.. Eve ning Worship 7:30 p.m. Youth Fellowship 8:30 p.m. Scout Troop 224, Monday 7:80 p.m. Mid-week worship. Wednesday 7:30 pm i choir practice Wednesday 8:16 p.m. Missionary meeting first and third Taso- days, 8 p.m. Church and family soppera. second Thursday, 7 p.m. Interest of the Churches by— JACKSON MOTORS. lac. Tout FORD Dealer RISTM And many thanks to you for your pgironago. Frandel Beauty Shop 120 S. Broad St. Southern Pines & WALLPAPER CC CLARK & BRADSHAW A & P TEA Cw THE COWRT&T 90PS8B^ 180 W. Penn. Ave. 692-3211 Wi s h e s You A Merry Christmas EM'lKl 'A In the true spirit of the season, we wish you all the “old-fashioned" joys of the holidays... the ever-new delights of good friends around you, good \ times and good cheer, and the gladness of exchanging gifts and greetings. Amerotron Co A DIVISION OF DEERING MILUKEN, INC.
The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)
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Dec. 26, 1963, edition 1
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