Christmas
ONE SOLITARY LIFE
HE WAS BORN
in an obscure village
the child of a peasant woman.
HE GREW UP
in still another village,
where He worked in a carpenter shop
until He was 30.
THEN FOR THREE YEARS
He was an itinerant preacher.
HE WAS A DEFENDER
of unpopular causes.
HE COUNTED AMONG HIS FRIENDS
the poor and the weak.
HE ASSOCIATED
with outcasts and lawbreakers
HE NEVER WROTE A BOOK.
HE NEVER HELD AN OFFICE.
HE NEVER HAD A FAMILY OR OWNED A HOUSE.
HE DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE.
HE NEVER VISITED A BIG CITY.
HE NEVER TRAVELED
two hundred miles
from the place of His birth.
HE DID NONE OF THE THINGS
one usually associates with greatness.
HE HAD NO CREDENTIALS
but Himself.
HE WAS ONLY THIRTY-THREE
when the tide of public opinion
turned against Him.
HIS FRIENDS RAN AWAY.
HE WAS TURNED OVER TO HIS 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.
WHEN HE WAS DEAD,
through the pity of a friend.
NEARLY 2,000 YEARS HAVE COME AND GONE,
AND TODAY HE IS THE CENTRAL FIGURE
OF THE HUMAN RACE
AND THE LEADER OF MANKIND'S PROGRESS.
ALL THE ARMIES
that ever marched,
ALL THE NAVIES
that ever sailed,
ALL THE PARLIAMENTS
that ever sat,
ALL THE KINGS
that ever reigned,
put together,
have not affected
the life of man
on this earth
as much as that
ONE SOLITARY LIFE
HE DID NONE OF THE THINGS
ONE USUALLY ASSOCIATES
WITH GREATNESS.
YET ALL THE WORLD HAS FOUND INSPIRATION
in that
ONE SOLITARY LIFE
