Not-So-Silent Night

Whoever called the night of Jesus' birth  a "silent night" did not know what they were talking about.  It was neither calm, nor silent.

 First came a long, grueling one hundred and fifty mile uphill journey of a pregnant woman and her fiancé to along a busy, bumpy road to a town she had never seen. Eventually,  they arrived at a busy caravansary, or inn on the southern road into a major urban city.  It was the First Century equivalent of a truck stop, filled with cursing men and noisy animals. It gives you a little idea of what that in must have been like, if you think that a weary woman would rather sleep with the animals outside than the people inside the in. 

Then came the shepherds,  standing over their bleating flocks, suddenly visited by an angel,  followed by a whole choir of angels. It is the only time in the Bible that anyone was visited by an army of singing angels.  It must have been like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir hovering over your back yard.  The Bible describes their utter panic and amazement. 

Once the angels left,  the shepherds went to the inn--probably with their sheep in tow.  There the met the rowdy guests at the end,  waking them up, and the whole lot of them probably descended upon the manger, which was now full of sheep, camels, donkeys, drunks,  shepherds, and who know what else.  There, in the center of their goggle-eyed attention lay a young girl and a little baby.  In the center of it all there is Mary, pondering in her heart the wonder of the miracle. 

There, as Luke records, Mary sat silent, pondering the wonder of it in her heart. 

And oh yes--she was also tired. 

Does Christmas ever get you down?  Do you ever feel that it is a lot of fuss and bother?  I do.  Maybe we ought to follow Mary's example. 

This year, do not allow the busyness of Christmas to put us off the real function of  the holiday. Christmas is a time of rest and contemplation, a holy season,  celebrated by Christians for centuries as a time to be still and ponder the miracle of the Incarnation.  It isn't a time of endless shopping and feasting, but a time for restoration, to gaze upon the glory of Christ and  ponder it in your heart.

Don’t let the parties, shopping, or even the church activities pull you away from experiencing the peace of God which passes all understanding.

is Christmas a joy or a burden? Is Christmas peace on earth to you, or push, push, push? 

The quiet coming of Christ in our hearts is  powerful and profound than all the trumpeted commercial voices.  We cannot understand how profound He is, unless we, too contemplate In quietness the  newborn King. 

This year,  don’t let the noise get to you. Take a moment to get still and ponder Him.