Passing Down the Message

John Ruskin (1819-1900), the famous art historian, wrote about a beautiful tradition that existed among the shepherds of the Swiss Alps during his lifetime. These shepherds grazed their flocks often in solitude, on the high slopes of the mountains, often long distances apart. There would always be one shepherd positioned highest on the mountain. He takes his horn, places it to his lips, and plays the notes that signal, "Glory to God in the highest."

This melody drifts down through the clear evening air, reaching the shepherd on the next lower pasture, who then places his…