Brightest Night. Part1 Christmas (1952)

[music] [music] [music] [music] [bell] [music] [music] [bell] There's the last one. Where should we put it? >> Here. Let me put it on. >> Mommy, don't forget baby Jesus. >> That's a good boy. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Baby Jesus. [crying] >> You want some attention, too, don't you, baby? Mommy. >> Yes, dear. >> Tell us the story of the brightest night. >> Tell the story, Mommy. >> The story about baby Jesus like you do every Christmas. >> All right. You set up the manger and I'll tell the story. [music] Many many years ago, there lived in the town of Nazareth a kind young lady whose name was Mary. One day, while Mary was busy in her home, she suddenly saw a bright light. And in this light, there stood an angel who said, "Mary, don't be afraid. I am Gabriel. God sent me to tell you that he has chosen you to be the mother of his son. Call him Jesus, for he will be God's son and the savior of all people. Mary said, "I don't know how all this can be." The angel said, "Mary, God can do everything." Then Mary said, "If this is what God wants, I'll be glad to do his will." The angel of the Lord then went to Joseph, who was engaged to Mary. And the angel said, "Joseph, take Mary to be your wife. God wants her to be the mother of baby Jesus, and you shall be his father here on earth and take care of him." And Joseph did as the angel told him. While all of this was happening in Nazareth, Caesar Augustus was king in the big city of Rome, many hundreds of miles away. One day, Caesar Augustus made a law that everybody in his kingdom was to be counted. All of the people had to go back to the place where they had been born. Mary and Joseph heard about this new law. They got ready for the trip to Bethlehem where they both had been born. Mary and Joseph had only [music] a few things to pack since they were poor people. All Joseph had was a little donkey. Joseph walked leading the donkey while Mary rode on the donkey with a small bundle of baggage. Hour after hour, mile after mile, day after day, they walked and walked in the cold wind. Joseph took very good care of Mary. Many times he stopped along the road to rest and to give Mary a drink of fresh water. Finally, late one afternoon, they came to Bethlehem. When they got to the tax office, they had to wait for all the other people who had come ahead of them to be counted. When Mary and Joseph had finally finished, it was getting dark. Both were very tired. So was the little donkey. Joseph now had to look for a place to stay [music] overnight. He first went to the little inn at the hotel in Bethlehem. But the man told him, "You are much too [music] late. I have no room left." He didn't even say, "I'm sorry." So Mary and Joseph went from house to house. But everybody told them, "You're too late. No room. No room." But God had not forgotten them. At the last place, [music] the man saw how tired and worn out Mary was. She could hardly keep her eyes open. This man told Joseph, "I have an old stable where you may stay. I'm sorry, but that's the best I have left." So, Joseph took Mary to the little stable. Here he made a nice bed for Mary with the hay and straw. And after [music] Joseph had fed the little donkey. He also went to bed. In the fields [music] outside Bethlehem that night, there were some lonely shepherds taking care of their sheep. It was quiet and dark and cold. Nothing could be heard but the crackling of the little fire which the shepherds had built to keep them warm. Then all of a sudden, a bright light shone down on the shepherds. The shepherds were very much afraid. In this bright light, there was an angel who told the shepherds, "Don't be afraid. I have some good news for you. Jesus, the Savior, is born. You will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And while this angel was still speaking, the blue sky opened up and many, many angels filled the sky. These angels sang the wonderful song, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." Oh, how happy the shepherds were. How they listened. Never before had they heard or seen anything like this. When their song was ended, the angels went back into heaven and the blue sky closed up and all was quiet and dark and cold as before. The shepherds were all excited about the good news. They said, "Let's go right now to see the baby Jesus." So, the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem. In the stable, Mary and Joseph were very happy because that very same night, baby Jesus had been born. She had put baby [music] Jesus in the manger where Joseph had made a soft bed for him with the hay and the straw. When the shepherds came to the stable, they found baby Jesus just as the angel said they would. The shepherds kneel down and prayed [music] to the baby Jesus because he was their savior just as he is our savior. On their way back to their sheep, the shepherds told the people in Bethlehem about the wonderful things that they had seen and heard. And we're like the shepherds, too. We tell others the good news about baby Jesus. Did you like the story? >> But that isn't all, Mommy. You didn't tell the story about the wise men. Well, how about letting Daddy tell that part? >> Come on, Daddy. >> Well, let's see. After the shepherds had found the baby Jesus, some wise men in a far away land were studying the stars. One night, they saw a bright star they had never [music] seen before. This new star was so different from all the other stars. The wise men were certain that it was a sign that Jesus, the King of the [music] Jews, the promised Savior, had been born. As it sparkled in the sky, the new star seemed to say to the wise men, "Come, I will lead [music] you to the baby Jesus." So, the wise men got ready for the trip. They packed their clothes and some food. They also took along some very fine presents. After the wise men had given their camels a long drink, they started on their journey. On their way to find baby Jesus, the wise men had [music] to cross small and big rivers. They had to go up and down hills and mountains. They had to cross miles of hot desert. But they kept on going. Finally, months after the first Christmas, the wise men came to the big [music] city of Jerusalem where the king lived. Here they asked the people, "Where is he that is born [music] king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him, but no one seemed to [music] know anything about this new king." Finally, a messenger told wicked King Herod about the wise men from the east and about the new king [music] they were trying to find. When he heard this, Herod was afraid. He wanted to [music] be king all by himself. He didn't want anyone else to be king. Wicked King Herod now called in the teachers from the temple. They looked into the Bible scrolls and found that many [music] years earlier, one of God's prophets had said that the new king, baby Jesus, was to be born [music] in Bethlehem. When Herod learned this, he called in the wise men and told them to go to Bethlehem and to let him know when they [music] found the baby Jesus. Herod told the wise men [music] that he wanted to worship baby Jesus too, but he was really making plans to kill him. The wise men were soon on their way to Bethlehem. When they got outside the city of Jerusalem, to their great surprise, they saw the same new star they had seen in [music] the east. This new star was showing them the way to Bethlehem. So the wise men followed the star. And when they came to the house over which the star stopped, they got off their camels and knocked on the door. Inside the house, they found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. no longer was a tiny baby. The wise men fell upon their knees and worshiped him. They also gave [music] baby Jesus the wonderful presents they had brought him all the way from the east. They gave him gold, frankincense, and myrr. All very expensive and precious gifts. That night, the wise men [music] stayed in Bethlehem. While they were sleeping, an angel came to them in a dream and told them not to go back and tell wicked King Herod that they had found the [music] baby Jesus. The angel told them that King Herod was planning to kill the baby [music] Jesus. So the next morning, the wise men got on their camels and took a different road back to their own homes far away in the [music] east. The wise men were like the shepherds. They were happy they had seen and worshiped the baby Jesus. >> And we're happy with them, too, aren't we? Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the baby Jesus. [bell] [music] >> [music]