Silent Night

“Silent night, holy night”

Can you picture it?

A quiet world. Shepherds in the night, their flock resting under the stars. 

A stable full of animals silenced by the birth of their Creator. 

Mary and Joseph with their warm smiles as they swaddle baby Jesus in their arms. 

This doesn’t look like most of our Christmases, but I bet you it didn’t look like the first Christmas either. 

I imagine those shepherds weren’t so quiet nor their bleating sheep—even before the heavenly host showed up, declaring the birth of the Messiah and belting out praise. 

I’m sure Mary used her voice during labor and the animals around her did too.

And what about the rest of Bethlehem? 

Going about the hustle and bustle of their daily lives even at its end. Not to mention the displacement and chaos of so many people traveling for the census.

Jesus was born into a world just as loud as our own, and yet he was still born into “heavenly peace.” He was born into rest and quiet in the midst of chaos because that is who He is. He is the bringer of peace. 

And that heavenly peace is something we still have access to because he came to bring us access to Himself.

Christmas isn’t about our planning and our striving and our trying to get it all together. It’s not about us feeling merry and bright or holly and jolly. Christmas is about our Savior being born. Rescue born into condemnation. Rest born into striving. Restoration born into brokenness. Quiet born into noise. Light born into darkness. 

And no matter how we are feeling this Christmas season, that is something we can take hold of. 

The darkness reminds us how beautiful and how necessary the light is. The brokenness reminds us why we need a savior. The noise reminds us why we long for peace, rest, and quiet. 

Holly and jolly is fun, but holiness is ever present in the nature of the child born, and He doesn’t require any pretense or performance from us.

So if this season is merry and bright, that’s wonderful. And if it’s not, that’s okay too. He is the hope we cling to, the source of our joy, the quiet in our night, and he is Immanuel, God with us.