December 18, 2006

[Rev. Doc]

Getting The Message Out

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'"
Luke 2:10-11

On Christmas Eve, 1906, from his workshop in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Fessenden sent the Morse message "CQ....CQ", alerting all ships at sea to expect an important transmission. When the telegraphers had assembled in their shipboard radio shacks, they heard the unimaginable: The sound of the human voice! . Fessenden, at this moment spoke for the first ever a vocal radio broadcast. He read from Lk. 2 including, "Glory to God in the highest -and on earth peace to men of good will," then played the song O Holy Night on the violin.

Those who were listening that night were no less stunned than if a tree had talked to them. Earphones that had only ever carried Morse code were communicating the full range of sound

Prayer: Ask God to show you opportunities to share with others the reason for celebration this Christmas.

"Eternal God, this holy night is radiant with the brilliance of your one true light. May that light illuminate our hearts and shine in our words and deeds. May the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love represented by the birth in Bethlehem this night fill our lives and become part of all that we say and do. May we share the divine life of your son Jesus Christ, even as he humbled himself to share our humanity. Amen."
~Rev. Richard J. Fairchild