Epiphany Day 6 Silent Night
This is a beautiful song but I seriously doubt it was a silent night in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. There were too many people and animals for that to happen.
The story behind Silent Night is as beautiful as the actual song. I will leave a link for you to read the whole story but the bottom line is that the church’s organ was broken and they needed a song for their Christmas Eve service. Silent Night was written to be played with just a guitar and voices. A quiet production. A LOT like the production that happened in the stable in Bethlehem that special night.
The streets of Bethlehem were crowded. I doubt there was any quiet to be had inside the walls. Many houses contained multiple families within their walls. The inns were full to capacity. The regular stables were probably full too. I imagine having to push your way through the crowds to get where you were going. Into this sea of humanity came Joseph and his bride Mary.
God miraculously saved a space for them in one of the stables near the city. This is where Mary would give birth to her firstborn Son. As a woman who has experienced the birth process four times myself, I can pretty much guarantee you SHE wasn’t silent. She made some noise. God could have blessed her with an easy labor and delivery but He promised Eve that there would be pain during it.
There might not have been ‘silence’ that night but I’m pretty sure there was peace. This was the peace of the Father. Joseph and Mary didn’t know what their future held. They didn’t know if there would be struggle or ease in raising Him. All they knew for certain was that God was in charge and they could trust Him to care for them. That was the Heavenly peace they rested in that night.
Jesus offers each of us that same peace. No matter the chaos in the world around you, there is peace to be had. He can silence your worries. But only if you let Him. Turn you future over to Him. He doesn’t promise easy paths through but peace in the midst of the storms.
Father God, thank You for Your peace. I can trust You with my future! No matter what lies ahead, You hold me in Your hands. You silence my fears. Even the stubborn ones that keep trying to get my attention. Help me remember this lesson in the ‘noisy’ times.
