Christmas Eve, December 24

SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT

Silent night…what a noble thought, especially during the Christmas season—the busiest, craziest time of the year.  It’s hard to imagine that this season is meant to be a remembrance of one calm, silent night.  A night in which it seemed that nobody (except for a few sheep herders) even noticed that the Savior of the world was being born.  This is a peculiar thought, especially in these days when even rumors of some actor or actress expecting a child are broadcast all over the world via the internet, television, magazines, etc.  It’s hard to think that something as awesome as the Savior of the world being born went seemingly unnoticed.  How could this happen?  How could the birth of the Savior of the world take place in silence?

The reason Jesus’ birth happened in silence is just this:  God wanted it that way.  This is a hard concept for us to grasp because we are so used to noise and excitement.  This world is always trying to “wow” us with “the next big thing”, and it has to be louder and flashier than the last thing.  But Jesus did not come to this world to bring excitement; He came to bring light.  Just look at the hymn for today, it’s all through it.  The third verse says: “Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light; radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace…” Even though the world may seem exciting and full of noise, it is still in darkness and needs the true light.  The Bible tells us in John 1:3-5, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”  Each one of us, since we are born into this world, is born into darkness.  We do not understand the light, because we do not know God.  The question that remains for us now is:  How do we receive the light?

There is only one way… through silence.  You see, God works when we are silent.  The Psalmist tells us in Psalms 62:5, "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him."  Again he tells us in Psalms 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God."  What an amazing thought!  If only we will be silent, God says that we can know Him.  But how can we be silent?  Silence is a very hard thing for us, since we are so used to talking, speaking our own mind, saying what WE want to say.  The only way that we can be silent is to lay down all of the “noise” in our lives (our own busyness, our worries, our cares), and just surrender to Jesus.  It is only through this complete surrender that He will shine the light of His love into our hearts so that we can truly know Him.

Make it a point, in this Christmas season, and hereafter, to seek after Him in silence.  In our complete surrender He comes to shine his “radiant beams” of “love’s pure light” into our hearts with “the dawn of redeeming grace”, to quote the hymn.  He will meet us in our silent surrender, and by His redeeming grace we can truly know Him!

~ Eric Frantz