Tag: Christmas

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The First Silent Night

 “Silent night, holy night – all is calm …”

So begins one of the all-time favorite carols of this season. Over the coming weeks, this song will be sung throughout churches as Christmas Day approaches.

Silence, calm – these are not words that describe what many experience during these days. There’s a charge in the atmosphere. I felt it the day after Thanksgiving as I walked through a shopping mall on what’s come to be known as Black Friday, the shopping day marked with fast, furious sales and super, duper, seasonal bargains.

Everywhere I turned there were lights and sounds and signage all pushing me to take advantage of the big deals. I was urged to buy, buy, buy. Add to your wardrobe; upgrade your phone; get the latest time-saving gadget – it will change your life.

I wondered just what I would do with the time I saved. How would I spend those extra minutes and seconds?

“Silent night, holy night” – I discerned the sound of the tune. It came from a speaker somewhere hidden in the bustle. The notes that I heard brought the words to mind.

It is easy to just think about Christmas and the manger with the virgin and her husband among the animals. All of that is so important. That was a splendid and glorious moment when Christ the Savior was born. Angels were heard. Shepherds were amazed. Wise men noticed the Star that rose over Jacob’s land.

But then I thought of something more.

God Chose to Rest

“Silent night, holy night” – these words made me think of the Lord in His stillness. The quiet, confident, secure nature of who God is amazes me.  His “so love” for the world is incomprehensible and eternal. God is at rest in His love (see Zephaniah 3:17).

The first silent night, the first holy night came because God willed it. Genesis 2 tells us that this came on the seventh day. He stopped what He was doing. Sabbath became a big part of the universe.

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made (Genesis 2:1-3).

God became still. He chose to bring His activity to a place of rest. All was calm, and all was bright. It was glorious.

Did the Lord need a break? Not at all – He has always been the all-powerful, the all-knowing, the all-seeing, the all-present One. The Maker of the heavens and the earth could have gone on making and creating as He saw fit.

“Be still and know that I am God” – so says Psalm 46:10. This is what Sabbath is all about.

Sabbath. Silence. Selah. These words are holy words. They speak of the rest that comes with wholeness and completeness – Shalom in the Hebrew.

God finished His work of Creation. Those days were good, good, good, good, good, and very good. He pronounced blessing and sanctification on the seventh day, however.

How did the angelic realm respond to Sabbath? I wonder about this. Did these bright, beautiful, intelligent, and talented creatures welcome the stillness? Some did, others did not.

From the Scriptures, we understand that at least one of God’s creations refuses to stay still. Inactivity is just not a part of Satan’s makeup. He is ever roaming, to and fro, up and down, seeking someone to deceive and devour. Maybe this was one of the devil’s big issues with his Maker. Perhaps it bothered the devil that the Lord was willing to stop doing things.

God saw no need to crowd the skies so full of stars that there would be no distinction. He named each of them so it makes sense that He left some space between them. Creation reached a conclusion, and so God said, “Let’s rest.”

Jesus and His Finished Work

Jesus finished the work of redemption at the Cross, committed His spirit to the Father, and bowed His head. Still. Lifeless. His body hung there to be collected, wrapped, and laid away in the tomb. And then came a waiting.

Instant triumph wasn’t — and isn’t — a part of the picture.

Between the Cross and the Resurrection, there was Sabbath. I am sure it was a somber and sad day for the followers of Christ, but the Lord followed His design. The stone would be rolled away – but not until the third day.

Now, we wait. The Ascension happened. His coming is still on hold. Haste? Hurry? God is not at all about this. His way, His truth, His life shall unfold according to His sovereign purposes.

When we turn to the book of Revelation, we can see even there that the Lord will not be in a rush to His judgment. “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). A pause shall punctuate the righteous wrath unleashed upon the wicked world.

Sabbath. Silence. Selah. These pause words should move us to listen; they should prompt us to be more ready to hear, as the writer of Ecclesiastes encourages us to do (see Ecclesiastes 5:1-3).

Rest in God goes beyond vacations, entertainment, and amusements. I am starting to prefer the word “holiday” to vacation. Getting away from it all can sometimes be an empty exercise, a frittering away of time.

Sabbaths – holy days – are what we really need.

Take rest, receive it from the One who promised to give it (Matthew 11:28-30). They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (see Isaiah 40:31).

Seek God. Be still and know. Wait and watch in wonder at His wonderful work.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

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Be it Unto Me

Mary was a simple teen-ager. Devout and sweet, betrothed to the town carpenter, she was ready to lead an unspectacular life and a gritty existence in Nazareth. She and Joseph would raise a Jewish family. They would celebrate the feasts together with travels to Jerusalem.

Hope for the Messiah lingered in her heart and in the hearts of many of her relatives who lived among the hills of Judea. Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary’s uncle and aunt, were particularly faithful to the ways taught by Moses. And, yet, they were childless. It was a mystery and a sorrow to them and to all who knew their righteous lives. They had been such good Jews. Like most barren women of her day, Elizabeth wrestled with the emptiness. Her insecurities often got the better of her as she fought back the feeling that she might somehow be under a curse.

And then the angel came. Gabriel shined before Zacharias as he took his turn to make offering at the incense altar. The prayers he prayed over the decades had been heard. Now, those prayers were answered, according to this bright being, the messenger sent from the throne room of the Lord.

A Prayer Answered

Elizabeth’s womb was about to come alive, Zacharias was told. All that he and his wife had hoped for was about to come true. She would bear a son, an Elijah, a man with a call to make the people ready for the King, the Messiah, the Savior.

Zacharias, however, was doubtful. These words were just too good to be true. “How shall this happen?” he said to Gabriel. “We are old people.” Those would be the last words Zacharias would speak for almost a year. His unbelief prompted the Lord to mute him. He would have to keep his doubts to himself.

Please let’s cut Zacharias some slack. He had lived through a troubled and torturous age with his family and nation. Israel’s glory days of David and Solomon were long, long past. How heavy life must have been for a people so favored and so informed. The oracles of God were theirs to read and to study and to share. The people lost sight of that last part. Rather than allowing their nation to grow into a powerful witness for God, they selfishly guarded their privilege and grew prejudiced against other peoples, whom they came to see as inferior.

Age creeps up on us just as it did on Zacharias. He was faithful to the Lord and His commandments, but his sense of wonder and expectation waned. It is all too common among believers. The flame of faith doesn’t always burn brightly. We live in a brutal world. Aches, pains, heartaches, disappointments, disasters, and death do a number on us as they have done on believers in all generations.

Gabriel’s visit jump-started Zacharias’ faith, I am sure – especially since all that the angel said came to pass. Still, he could only smile, chuckle, and nod when his wife miraculously became pregnant a short while after this Temple visitation.

A Virgin Conceives

Mary, remember, was young and engaged. Excitement likely surrounded her preparations for the day when Joseph would take her as his bride. Wedding plans can get wild and contentious at times, but for the most part, they are joyful anticipations of a great celebration.

In the midst of all this, Gabriel appeared before Mary and announced this:  “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (See Luke 1:29). Stunned, this young bride-to-be struggled to comprehend the meaning of this sentence.

The next words were even more astounding:  “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

Mary had been chosen to give birth to the Son of the Most High. God would enter humanity through her.

Like Zacharias, she had her questions: “How will this happen? I am a virgin.” Gabriel explained that her conception would be a work of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who made Elizabeth’s womb alive, the same Spirit who hovered over the face of the waters at a time when the earth was without form and void. The Spirit would “overshadow” Mary – the substance of His presence would generate the incarnation, the activity of the Word taking on flesh and bone.

“For with God, nothing is impossible,” said Gabriel.

This was enough for Mary. She questioned no more and offered herself as a living sacrifice: “Be it unto me according to your word.” In so many words, this virgin girl said, “l am yours, Lord – do as You will.”

Soon Mary would sing with Elizabeth. Two women,  great with child, rejoiced at the miracle of God with us.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

For He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.

And His mercy is for those who fear Him
from generation to generation” (Luke 1:46-50).

May these thoughts ring in our hearts as we see the Christmas season approach fast and furiously. Let us think upon the miracle of Mary and her choice to allow God’s purpose to be manifest in her. Hers was a simple and strong faith in the mighty God who does great things.