One Solitary Life
A couple of years ago, my family went to New York City for a week during the holidays. My favorite stop that year was Radio City Music Hall where the world famous Rockettes did their incredible thing. At the end of the show, a live nativity (complete with camels and sheep) formed on the stage as the announcer read the 1926 poem “One Solitary Life” by James Allan Francis. In a world of political correctness, I loved that on the grandest stage in the world, this message was boldly declared.
Here it is for you to enjoy today. Never forget the reason for the season!
Merry Christmas all!
He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirtyHe never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never traveled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himselfHe was only thirty three
His friends ran away
One of them denied him
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 dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth
When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend
Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind’s progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that have ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life
Christmas, Holidays, James Allan Francis, Jesus, Nativity, Rockettes
Erik Golbiw
Don – The only thing I would argue is that his life was one of solitude – He had God with him. Always.