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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Opinions
Ruffin’s Renderings: As slow
BY MIKE RUFFIN
ruffinml@gmail.com
It was late on Christ
mas Day. The sun had
set and my parents
and 1 were somewhere
between Yatesville and
Barnesville on our way
back home after the
day-long celebration of
Christ’s birth through the
eating of food and the
exchanging of gifts.
Into the quietness of
the moment broke my fa
ther’s voice: “Well, that’s
that for another 365
days!” And my ten-year-
old heart sank. How on
earth and under heaven
could I wait 365 days for
the next Christmas to
arrive?
At that age the phrase
“as slow as Christmas”
was still packed with
meaning for me. The pe
riod from one Christmas
to the next seemed to
stretch on for a decade.
The closer Christmas
got, the slower time
seemed to move. Dur
ing the last
few days, the
second hand
on my Timex
watch ap
peared to tick
once every ten
seconds.
“Hurry
Christmas,
hurry fast,”
the Chipmunks
sang, but it
never did;
“Christmas, don’t be
late,” they also sang, but
it always was.
I confess that to my
child’s mind it was the
Santa Claus aspect of
Christmas — an aspect
that is filled with its own
special brand of wonder
mixed with anxiety —
that made time move so
slowly for me. Looking
back, though, I realize
that there was a great
benefit to the mysteri
ous, if imaginary, slowing
down of time in the days
leading up to Christmas:
it created space in which
I could experience the
real mystery
and wonder
of the season.
In that space I
could and did
marvel over
what God had
done in Christ.
Another
reason that time
seemed to slow
to a crawl for
me back then
was that, once
school let out for the
holidays, I had nothing
to do until Christmas
Day arrived. That has
changed, too; I have not
had “nothing to do” since
1975.
That’s not all that has
changed. Now the phrase
“as slow as Christmas”
mocks me and my
lifestyle. Now 365 days
go by as if they are 36.5
days. It seems as if we
celebrated Christmas
just a few months ago.
Whereas pre-Christmas
time slowed down of its
own accord during my
childhood, now I have
to take intentional steps
to create space in which
I can experience the
mystery and wonder of
the great act of love and
grace that was carried
out by Almighty God in
the birth of Jesus Christ.
That’s why I am so
grateful that somewhere
along the way I became
aware of the Christian
practice of observing
the Season of Advent; it
gives some structure and
meaning to this time of
waiting for the coming
of Christ at Christmas.
It also provides some
incentive and some
reminders for me to take
a bit of time out dur
ing these days to think
about and to pray over
the great love of God — a
love that we can never
fathom but can grow
to appreciate more and
more, and to live in light
of more and more.
Time did not really
slow down when I was a
child; it just seemed like
it. We cannot really slow
as Christmas
time down now. We can,
however, set some time
aside to read about, to re
flect upon, and to marvel
at the Word becoming
flesh and dwelling among
us.
It would be a good
thing, too, if the practice
of slowing down and be
ing present with the God
who loves us enough to
come to us would carry
over into the rest of our
year and into the rest of
our lives.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives and works in Macon. His
new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and at
Amazon.
The Christmas Story
Luke 2: 1-20
ON THE AN CIENT PATH
The shepherds were chosen
In those days a decree
went out from Caesar
Augustus that the world
should be enrolled. This
was the first enrollment
when Quirinius was
governor of Syria. And
all went to be enrolled,
each to his own city. And
Joseph also went up from
Galilee, from the city of
Nazareth, to Judea, to
the city of David, which
is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the
house and lineage of
David, to be enrolled with
Mary, his betrothed, who
was with child. And while
they were there, the time
came for her to be deliv
ered. And she gave birth
to her first-born son and
wrapped him in swad
dling cloths, and laid him
in a manger, because
there was no place for
them in the inn.
And in that region
there were shepherds
out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by
night. And an angel of the
Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord
shone around them, and
they were filled with
fear. And the angel said
to them, “Be not afraid;
for behold, I bring you
good news of a great joy
which will come to all
the people; for to you is
born this day in the city
of David a savior, who is
Christ the Lord. And this
will be a sign for you: you
will find a babe wrapped
in swaddling cloths and
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 high
est, and on earth peace
among men with whom
he is pleased.”
When the angels went
away from them into
heaven, the shepherds
said to one another, “Let
us go over to Bethlehem
and see this thing that
has happened, which the
Lord has made known to
us. And they went with
haste, and found Mary
and Joseph, and the babe
lying in a manger. And
when they saw it they
made known the say
ing which had been told
them concerning this
child; and all who heard
it wondered at what the
shepherds told them.
But Mary kept all these
things, pondering them in
her heart. And the shep
herds returned, glorifying
and praising God for all
they had heard and seen,
as it had been told them.
BY BEVERLY BRISENDINE
beverly.brisendine@gmail.com
hem. I
remember standing at a
high point there and be
ing able to look across
the open fields and
seeing Jerusalem in the
distance. We were told
these were the shep
herds’ fields. Oh, did I
begin to ponder on this.
Could it be the
shepherd boy, David,
had walked these very
fields, watching over his
father, Jesse’s, sheep?
Could these be the
very fields where David
had killed the lion and
the bear while protect
ing the sheep? Could
these be the same
fields where David lay
down at night under
the myriad of stars and
penned some of the
Psalms we actually read
today? Could this be
where David was when
he was called into his
father’s house to meet
Samuel for the first time
and was anointed future
King of Israel?
Shepherds were on
the low rung of the
social ladder in that
day. Remember Jesse
thought David not even
fit to be brought before
Samuel until Samuel
inquired was there
another son. Shepherds
slept with the sheep and
stayed with them con
tinually. They were un
able to bathe frequently
and their clothing was
smelly and soiled.
ISamuel 16:7 tells us:
“The Lord sees not as
man sees for man looks
on the outward appear
ance but the Lord looks
on the heart.” Jesse saw
David as his concubine’s
son, unfit for anything
but to tend the sheep.
The Lord saw David as
a man with a pure heart
who loved Him and wor
shipped Him day and
night. God brought him
out of the shepherd’s
fields and made him
King over all of Israel.
Now let’s fast forward
in time and there are
still shepherds in these
same fields around
Bethlehem. Heaven has
just invaded earth with
the birth of the Christ
child in a stable nearby.
All of the angelic host
are watching as Mary,
a virgin, gives birth to
the very Son of God.
Gabriel had told Mary
that she would call His
name Jesus. Mary had
held this all in her heart
telling only Elizabeth,
the mother of John the
Baptist, and Joseph.
All of heaven stood at
attention!
An announcement
must be made! Who
would be picked to
receive this incredible
revelation knowledge?
Well, we know who.
Luke 2:8-14 says, “And
there were in the same
country shepherds abid
ing in the field keeping
watch over their flock
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 so 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 Savior, which is Christ
the Lord’ ... and sud
denly 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.’”
There was nothing or
dinary about that night.
It had become extraor
dinary!
Yes, the shepherds
were chosen to be the
first to go and bow their
knee to the Savior of the
world. While all of Israel
was sleeping, the meek,
lowly, and humble were
kneeling. They were
bowing before the One
that would become the
Magnificent One that
only the meek, lowly,
and humble shall truly
see.
Pike County
Journal
Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.0. Box 789
16026 Barnesville St.
Zebulon, Ga. 30295
770.567.3446
The Pike County Journal
Reporter is the official
organ of Pike County, the
cities of Zebulon, Molena,
Meansville, Williamson
and Concord. It is
published weekly by
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Inc. Second class
postage is paid at the
Zebulon, Ga Post Office.
Publishers: Walter and
Laura Geiger; staff:
Jennifer Taylor,
Brenda Sanchez and
Rachel McDaniel.
A Friend of Little Children
If I cannot be a wise man, guided by a star,
Let me be an humble shepherd, as all my people are;
For, though I cannot bring rich gifts to Mary and her Son,
And though a lonely hillside is my only Parthenon,
I can feel the heaven’s glory - can hear the angels sing,
And I know they are proclaiming the advent of a King.
I
f / <tlt
When Mary saw the costly gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh,
I sometimes wonder - wonder if they meant as much to her
As the fleecy little blankets that wrapped her
^ Blessed Child;
And, somehow, when I think of this, I’m always
reconciled
To stay out in the lonely fields and follow up the sheep,
So there may be warm blankets where little
children sleep.
t
Wightman F. Melton
Poet Laureate of Georgia
AT PIKE
BY DWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
December 23, 1921: Holiday notice: There will
be no regular paper next week. “Owing to this being
Christmas week there will be only a repetition of
this sheet. When a fellow has worked all the year,
he should have at least a short time Christmas.”
75 YEARS AGO
December 26, 1946: An ad in homage to the
longstanding Christmas tradition: Fireworks!
Sparklers, Sky Rockets, Fire Crackers and Roman
Candles. All other Fireworks. Dunn’s Service Sta
tion, Zebulon-Concord Road.
50 YEARS AGO
December 24, 1971: The Bank of Zebulon board
of directors chose Jimmie L. Bryson as the new
Vice President. A native of Macon, Bryson estab
lished his banking career at Citizens & Southern
Bank in Atlanta.
25 YEARS AGO
December 25, 1996: A rare December dusting
of snow arrived one week before Christmas. A
blanket of snow covered Pike County late Wednes
day night, December 18 and children enjoyed the
weather thanks to a school snow day.