Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Beaton A Cjreelin HOWARD LUMBERCOIPAHY "ONE BOARD OR A TRAINLOAD" J. W. Carson W. B. Badger 1900 Milledgeville Road — Augusta, Ga. PHONE 2-0451 Sea Aon A Cjeeetin gA RIVERSIDE SALES COMPANY NO. 1 — 5TH STREET AUGUSTA, GEORGIA * A CHRISTMAS STORY THE BULLETIN, December 24, 1960—PAGE 1-B And What Came Of It By Auleen Bordeaux Eberhardi Sea Aon A Cjrcetin FROM Lake View Pharmacy, Inc. 1800 BROAD STREET AUGUSTA, GA. — PHONE RE. 3-4495 — What St. Luke Really Meant A Merry Christmas And —-U. v. Best Wishes FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION Broad and Tenth • Downtown Augusta Branch Office on Walton Way just off 15th Street Broad Street At 10th New Branch Office — Walton Way at 15th Street By Ivonne Yu Imagine a strange young couple stuck in a little American town, with ten dol lars to their name, a broken down jalopy, no roof over their heads, and 'expecting to in crease their family any min ute now. How did a couple like this, but of almost 2,000 years ago, manage to prepare themselves for the coming of their first-born? After having traveled four days they arrived at Bethle hem and found “no room in the inn.” But the truth is— there was no inn! The Baby was “laid in the manger.” Only there was no stable. What is the reality hidden by the literary conventions of the Gospel? THE CENSUS One day around the year 6 B.C. the Roman top brass in Judea received long expected orders from the divine Augus tus to contribute to the em pire-wide census of his sub jects. As Judaic customs demand ed, the count was taken ac cording to people’s ancestral origin. Thus somewhere between the end of March and the be ginning of April of that year tne carpenter Joseph closed up lis workshop at Nazareth, Gal ilee, put his young wife and a few necessities on a donkey, and set out to cross some 90- odd miles to Bethlehem in Judea. As usually in the last days of the rainy season, it poured, but the hot khamsin wind be gan announcing spring. The tortuous roads were filled with camel and donkey caravans. Hundreds of foot travelers streamed in the ancient muddy seat of the family of old King David. Amid chattering crowds Mary felt her time coming — privacy was what she wanted above all else. Private homes, consisting mostly of one room, were fill ed to the brim. Joseph’s nu merous cousins probably could have provided him with a sleeping mat, but Mary longed to be free from prying eyes . . . On the road that leads from Jerusalem to Egypt there stood what St. Luke calls the “inn” — really only a cara vansary — a walled-in court with one entrance and a few partitions inside forming one common room and two al coves. The place was filled with irritable camels and ass es. People slept on the ground, ate, sang, prayed, bickered and bargained. The owner, himself squeezed among his custom ers’ mounts for the. night, per haps only waved desperately at the inquiring Joseph. Night was falling. Maybe street urchins seeking excite ment and profit among so many strangers told the con fused couple about the lime stone caves in the nearby hills. Shepherds, cows, asses and sheep would take refuge in these “stables” against cold and rain. . . . Joseph cleared the floor of one of the little grottoes, made a bed of straw for Mary, put out the provisions by the manger hanging on the wall. Here was quiet and privacy! They waited . . . “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger . . .” (Luke 2:7). Night moved slow ly toward dawn. With characistic subtlety St. Luke tells us: “There were shepherds in the sam& district living in the fields and keep ing watch over their flock by night.” (Luke 2:8). DESERT NOMADS As today, so then, large herds of big, dusty sheep and goats grazed on the undulating plain three miles east of Beth lehem ail year round. Tending them were families of desert nomads who passed the worst of the winter in the grottoes, tne rest of their lives in the bushes. They were strong, smelly, ignorant, thieving and dangerous. Armed with clubs, the shep herds would equally massacre wolves and vagrants. These “people of the land” inspired Rabbi Eleazar (sometime be fore A.D. 124) to exclaim: “If It was a day in mid-Decem ber, 1942. The great stores of our city were jammed with shoppers feverishly picking out gifts. Occasionally, someone would take time to exclaim over the elaborate decorations. This year, there was Santa Claus, driving his sleigh and calling to his reindeers, suspended from the ceiling. In niches, around the walls were brownies and elves, busy with toy-making under the supervision of Kris and Tante Kringle. Gigantic rubber ani mals clung to the balconies. Silver trees, tinsel and Christ mas trappings were on every counter and m every corner. A CHILD'S QUESTION I felt a tug at my coat. “Where is the Christ Child?” asked my five-year-old son. I couldn’t get his words out of my mind. During the Christmas season I thought — many times — of what he had said. Where was the Christ Child in our city’s Christmas? Of course we had a crib in our home, right under the Christmas tree. And there was a large crib in our church. But there were no religious dis plays in our store windows; there were no indications any where, publicly, that Christ mas was the Christ Child’s birthday. That evening, our sons ask ed some neighbor children to come to see our crib. Many of them had never looked at a crib close up before. Several youngsters sat down on the floor and began to arrange the animals and the figures of the Holy Family and the shep herds and the kings. “Please tell us the Christ mas story, Mather?” our sons asked. So I went into the living room and began a procedure that went on, every afternoon, until Christmas Eve. The chil dren soon knew it by heart; they never let me leave out any of the story, which went something like this: THE STORY BEGINS . . Nearly 20 centuries ago, a Roman Emperor named Caesar Augustus, decided to count all the people over whom he ruled. He ordered all men and women to go to the city where they were born, so their names could be written in great books. A carpenter named Joseph lived, with his wife, Mary, in Nazareth. But they had to be enrolled at a far-away place called Bethlehem. They were poor people. The journey would be costly. And Mary was going to have a baby very soon. Yet they dared not disobey the Em peror. Now, Mary had a wonderful secret. Months before, an An gel, in shining white and gold robes, had appeared to her. He told her that he was the Angel Gabriel and that her Son would be the Saviour of the world. Joseph loved Mary dearly. He had sold many things to get food and lodging money for the journey. But most of all, wanted to buy a donkey on which she could ride. He had nothing left to sell except a little chair which he had made for Mary’s baby. It was of perfect cedar wood, and polished until it shone. On the day before they were to leave for Bethlehem, Joseph realized that Mary could not travel on foot. He had to find a donkey. So, he finally took the little chair to the market place where many animals were be ing sold. There were fat donkeys, thin donkeys, rough and dirty donkeys. All were too costly, If Joseph bought even the cheapest, he would not have enough money for the trip. He turned sadly away. Then a man grasped Jos eph’s arm. “I will trade you a donkey (Continued on Page 6-B) ioc- and ef- of :ors the ;w- eve Prayer To The Holy Family By Most Rev. Peter W. Bartholome, D.D. O God, who in Thy Divine .Wisdom and solicitude for mankind, didst institute marriage for the continua tion of the human race and for the mutual earthly and eternal happiness of men and women, deign to bestow Tny divine blessing on the homes of our beloved country. Give to the manhood of the nation, who share in Thy Divine Fatherhood, a fuller understanding of the dignity and responsibility of tneir calling. MaKe them caret ui providers, gentle protectors, and shining exam- pits or emnsuan virtue in their homes. Give to me women ot America a true realization of the uignity and purpose ot motnerhood; let tne beauti ful example ot Tny most noiy Motner inspire them with a deep loyalty ana constant devotion to tneir homes. wray tne life of Tny Divine bon inspire a spirit of love, respect and obedience in the souls of our cnildren. Grant tnat tattlers, mothers and children may have charity, which is the bond of perfection. May the peace ot Christ reign in their hearts and homes so that, instruct ed by the example of Thy Holy Family, they may be received by Thee into their eternal home, through Christ our Lord. Amen. its iw- im- the ted hes to ted leir i r as in- ind ss- ich s a 'ed ip- WHITE S STILL HAS GIFTS A - PLENTY MORE THAN ANY OTHER STORE 4„ •* ■ < < we (Pharisees) were not neces sary to them for trade, they would murder us.” GEORGIA POWER COMPANY AUGUSTA, GEORGIA The angelic apparition in the night frightened a few solitary shepherds. But they were sim ple folk, reared in the old Is raelite dream of the coming of the Messias. So when the Mes senger pointed to the well- known caves, not to Herod’s palace seven miles, north, they hurried to Bethlehem with ex citement and anxiety. And they found Him. Hav ing nothing to give to the Mother or the Babe, they mar velled at the story told them by Mary and Joseph, throw ing up their arms and kneel ing down to see the Boy bet ter. “And all who heard mar velled at the things told them by the shepherds” (Luke 2:18), who, after seeing and listen ing, scattered among their families and other shepherds on the watch in the night. -Ax-,- From The Bank Of Augusta 4i INTEREST PAID o ON SAVINGS AND 5c PER CHECK (20 CHECKS FOR $1) NO OTHER CHARGE SPECIAL CHECKING ACCOUNTS PIUS These Convenient Banking Hours: 1:30 AM-5:30 PM MON. # TUES., THURS., FRI. 8:30 AM-12 Noon WED. & SAT. The Bank Of Augusta PRIVATE BANK 1296 Broad St. NOT INCORPORATED Augusta, Georgia