SILENT NIGHT
Read Time: 3 min 37 sec
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.”
- Isaiah 9:6-7
THE GOOD STUFF
SILENT NIGHT
by Jake Zurawski | Creative Arts & Communications Director
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Imagine you are pregnant. Or if you are a man, imagine your wife is pregnant (well actually, the woman you are engaged to is pregnant and you're a little bit confused but you've had some dreams where an angel told you it was okay so you're rolling with it and acting in faith that your future wife, known as the "'round yon virgin" for the rest of time, is carrying the Son of God and not the son of Steve from across town. But all of that is a little much...).
Let's start again... imagine you or your wife is pregnant. Like "due anytime" pregnant. You're traveling back to your hometown to be counted in a census and as you're pulling into the city, the labor pains are putting an exclamation point on the difficulty of riding on a donkey for 90 miles. You're searching everywhere for a place to stay. You find a motel but the "No vacancy" sign is burning bright red. You begin banging on doors, begging for a place to stay as the labor pains turn into “There is a baby actively trying to leave my body" pains. One man points at the shed in his backyard and you run to it. You swing open the doors and are met with the stench of animal waste and the loud orchestra of sheep and cattle. The screams of childbirth join the symphony as you lay on the dirty hay in a stranger’s barn a hundred miles from your family…
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Silent night?! That night was anything but silent! It could have quite possibly been one of the most chaotic and noisy moments of Mary and Joseph’s life!
But this silent night doesn’t refer to volume, but that this was a night just like any other. A random and ordinary Tuesday. People were already in bed thinking about tomorrow, not expecting anything left from today.
There were prophecies of the Messiah and beliefs in a king rising up to be “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” But no one expected Messiah to come as a lamb. No one was looking in stables to find the I Am.
The God of the universe, Creator of all, emptied Himself of His Heavenly Glory to be born in a manger on a “quiet” evening as fully human. There was no party or parade to mark His entrance. A few lowly shepherds were told about His birth and given the “good news of great joy for all the people.”
The course of redemptive history was transformed on this night. Everlasting hope, peace, love, and joy was born in a manger. The salvation of the world rested on His undeveloped shoulders. His tiny hands would one day be pierced as He bore the weight of our sins on a cross.
But for now, on this silent night, a baby was given to Mary and Joseph. The Son of God had come. We celebrate His arrival and stand in awe at His sacrifice as He lay in the hay.
Sleep in heavenly peace, dear child. You have a big life ahead. Thank you for who You are and what You will do. Hallelujah, all glory and honor to Jesus, our Savior, Christ, and Lord.