Editorials
The Jackson Herald
December 22, 1999
One solitary life
An Annual Christmas Message From The Jackson
Herald
The imagery of the Christ Child being born
in a stable beneath a bright star surrounded by both learned
Wise Men and humble shepherds is one of the most powerful pictures
in human history. Humble by birth, He became a shepherd of men,
a king of kings and the light of humankind.
Yet, for all His impact on this world, little is known about
the man we call Jesus. Relative to others of his era, his known
words are few. And virtually nothing is known of His childhood
after the birth in Bethlehem.
Many of Jesus' parables revolve around the common things He observed,
and it isn't too much to imagine that those well-known stories
may have come from the things he saw as a child, say scholars
who wish to study the area.
Perhaps it is by design that we know so little about His childhood.
But what we know of His later life was destined to change the
world.
One unknown writer said it best:
He was born in an obscure village.
He worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30.
He then became an itinerant preacher.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn't go to college.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the public turned against him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to enemies and went through the mockery of
a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing,
the only property he had on earth.
He was laid in a borrowed grave.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central
figure of the human race.
All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed,
all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever
reigned have not affected the life of man of this earth as much
as that One Solitary Life.
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Column
By Mike
Buffington
December 22, 1999
The
first gift of Christmas was a child
There are several hundred
smiling faces in this week's newspaper, faces which mute the
cynics and renew the faithless.
Each Christmas, our newspapers collect hundreds of photos of
area children and compile them in a special section. It is a
Christmas card to our readers signed by the hundreds in whose
hands rest all of our dreams.
Where but in the eyes of a child can you see both the past -
little Tommy has granddad's eyes, sister Suzie has her mother's
hair - and the future - Blake wants to be a fireman, Jane a doctor.
Tomorrow is a memory of today by the children, youngsters whose
innocence is our joy, whose faces light up our homes and whose
wonder keeps tradition alive.
Many cultures believe that it is the old who keep traditions,
who pass down the wisdom of years and the touchstones of life.
But it is the young who are the torchbearers. Without a new generation
to teach, traditions mean very little.
It is that faith in the future and our collective desire to pass
the cultural torch which makes Christmas a special season. It
is a season of faith, not only of religion, but also in our humanity.
Even with the kitsch and commercialism being blared around us,
the fundamental desire for "peace on earth, good will to
men" rings through. Our social conventions may sometimes
be shallow, but somehow generation after generation will touch
the core of the Christmas spirit and be renewed.
For some, it is a season of mixed emotions. Amid all the gaiety,
there are the memories of friends and family who are gone. The
music, the smell of a Christmas tree and the annual nesting of
families bring back the bittersweet thoughts.
For others, it will be the last Christmas together. There are
those who face the inevitable end and even having lived a good
and long life is little consolation to the families who will
miss them.
But in the faces of their offspring, of the great-grandchildren
who laugh and play around them, is the faith that pulls life
forward. Without the laughter of children, there would be an
emptiness in their wake.
And so, the torch is passed and the traditions continue, someday
to be in the hands of those who now play around the Christmas
tree and peek up the chimney.
The past and the future come together at Christmas - the memories
of our own childhoods mixed with the new memories now being formed
by our children. They will someday look back at this special
time and smile just as we do at our own childhood memories.
And someday our children's children will tug at the Christmas
tree ornaments and be amazed by the shimmering Christmas lights
along city streets.
They will sing in church plays and perform in school concerts.
They will sit on Santa's knee and promise to be good so they
can get that new bike.
They will look at the nativity set and rearrange the pieces,
always making a special place for the Baby Jesus.
They will want to see the tape of Rudolph until they know every
line by heart.
They will ask 1,000 questions about the sleigh and reindeer.
They will leave milk and cookies because Santa's sure to be hungry.
They will check the stockings every day, just in case.
They will eat too much candy and be happy about it.
They will hope.
They will dream.
And they, too, will someday know that the first gift of Christmas
was a child.
Mike Buffington is editor
of The Jackson Herald. This is a reprint of of his favorite Christmas
column.
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