Day 16: Silent Night

by Dec 16, 2020Christmas 2020, Devotional, Songs of Christmas

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

‘Round yon virgin Mother and Child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

 

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight!

Glories stream from heaven afar;

Heavenly hosts sing Al-le-lu-ia!

Christ the Savior is born!

 

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, oh, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

Idon’t know about you, but when I think of the birthing experience, ‘silent’ is not the word that comes immediately to mind.

I imagine a mother’s cries of pain, joined by the shocked wails of a baby suddenly finding itself in the big, bright world.  While it is beautiful and miraculous, labor is not typically peaceful, yet“Silent Night” depicts the evening of Jesus’s birth as just that: silent, holy, and calm.

How are we supposed to believe that Mary spent days traveling on a mule only to labor in a manger and yet her birth experience was anything less than stressful?  Mary had to have been in pain, traumatized, and very overwhelmed by the experience; however, the peace of knowing that the Messiah had come overruled any negative feelings. 

There had been years of prophecy predicting the coming of Jesus, and here He finally was! Men traveled to just get a glimpse of the Son of God, just to see Him with their own eyes and give Him gifts. Heaven celebrated, knowing that this was the day that God came to earth to reconcile His people to Himself. 

I believe that the peace of Jesus’s birth came not from silence but from those who believed and gazed on the beauty of the Chosen One, the babe who would strengthen their hope for total grace and forgiveness from God. This birth was a tangible sign of God’s love and desire to save His people, and it was the first of many wonders of Jesus Christ.

“Silent Night” is a testament to God’s power to work peace into our lives, even in the midst of chaos, just as He did the night Jesus was born.