SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.’”  (Luke 2:13–14 NIV)

On that first Christmas night, the world was hushed in holy wonder. In the stillness of Bethlehem, heaven broke into earth with the cry of a newborn child -- the Savior of the world. The beloved “Silent Night” captures this paradox: a quiet, ordinary setting transformed by the extraordinary presence of God.

The carol reminds us that peace is not found in noise or grandeur, but in the humble manger where Christ was laid. The silence of that night was filled with divine glory, as angels proclaimed peace and shepherds knelt in awe.

Christmas Eve invites us to pause in the midst of our busyness, to let the silence speak, and to hear again the message of hope: God is with us. In Christ, the holy breaks into the ordinary, and peace enters our restless hearts.

Take time tonight to quiet your heart and reflect on God’s presence. Let the Prince of Peace calm your anxieties and fill you with joy. Just as the shepherds spread the news, carry Christ’s peace into your family and community. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6271

THE MAGI’S RESPONSE

“After [the Magi] had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts…” (Matthew 2:9-11 NIV)

They bowed down and worshipped Him. The Magi chose not to resist, not to ignore, but to worship. In fact, they had been choosing to worship Jesus ever since they saw that star in the east and started their trek towards Jerusalem and then the short distance on to Bethlehem. They’d been worshipping Him by giving Him their time, by giving Him their energy and, finally, by giving Him their wealth. That’s what worship is – giving your all, your life, to Jesus as you put your wallet, your calendar and your mind at His disposal.

These Magi knew the King of the Jews had been born. They sensed He was the divine Shepard-Ruler. They had a decision to make. Resist or ignore Jesus, or worship Him? Resist or ignore Jesus, or let Him be the Captain of their fates and the Master of their souls, and discover lasting strength security, and peace, on into eternity and death?

They worshipped Him.

And they found joy -- heart-swelling, deep down, spring-in-your-step joy… The Magi finish the first Christmas heading home, back to normality, with a new meaning and a new feeling – with joy that lasts, and that will never end. 

-- Carl Laferton in “Rescuing Christmas: The Search for Joy that Lasts”

#6019

THE SHEPERDS’ RESPONSE

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.” (Luke 2:8-20 NKJV)

The greatest brightness of the whole birth narrative comes in the shepherds' response. You see, had the shepherds only heard the message and gone back to sheep tending, we would think they were foolish. Had they found a baby and then gone home with a satisfied knowledge, we might consider them extremely fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time. Yet, what they did was greater. They proceeded to tell everyone around them, everywhere they could go, what they had heard and seen; and then they praised and glorified God for it all. The shepherds took on the role of the angels themselves, new messengers of salvation and good news; and in doing so, they extended the light of God's loving Word far beyond where it might have gone otherwise that night. The light of this news, this new day, was carried far and wide; and all who heard it were amazed and still are.

As we hear the shepherds' story, we find our task as the followers of Christ this Christmas. That is, we are called to bear the light of the news of the coming of Christ to this world, to carry the brightness of this gospel… The extent of this light is only limited by our self-limitation and unwillingness to share the message, or lack of faith in believing that the message is that profound, that world-changing… Who do you know who needs the light of Christ's love offered to him or her? 

-- Randy Cross in “Born to Save: An Advent Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary” 

#6018

REMEMBER WHAT WE CELEBRATE

"But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children. And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father.’ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir."  (Galatians 4:4-8)

On this eve of Christmas, whether you feel yourself to be surrounded by earthly blessings or whether you feel your blessings to be few, set aside those thoughts and concerns long enough to remember what it is that we are celebrating: God’s loving plan to bring you home to Himself, through the gift of Jesus Christ.  

-- Nancy Guthrie in “Advent: Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room” 

#6016

 

NO ROOM IN THE INN

Five little words in the Gospel of Luke say it all: "No Room in the Inn."

There is a certain pathos in those words. "No room for You here." That was the beginning of the Master's life. That was the very first thing the world said to Jesus Christ, and that experience would plague Him the remainder of His days on this earth, and, indeed, even to this present moment. "No room! We're just too crowded! Sorry, we're full up! No vacancy! Try again some other time. No room for You here right now. So, if you'll please excuse me, I've got a million and one things to see about. It's too bad, but there's just no room!"…

Harry Emerson Fosdick once put it like this: "The crucial difficulty of Christ's life which denied Him the service He longed to render, closed to Him the hearts He longed to change and brought Him at last to Calvary...was something so simple, so familiar, so little recognized as a tragic evil -- so universal among us all, that one almost hesitates to name it -- inhospitality. No Room!"

Let's be honest now. Isn't that our problem? Yours and mine? We get so busy, so tired, so preoccupied with the incessant demands on our crowded lives that we shut out the very birth of the Master we so long to know…

Won't you let Him in this Christmas? Won't you offer Him your warmest hospitality? Won't you welcome Him into your life this year with open arms? Won't you receive Him into your life as never before? Won't you make room for Him? 

-- Rev. Dr. James W. Moore 

#5758

THE TRUE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS

Jesus said, "Let us go somewhere else -- to the nearby villages -- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."  (Mark 1:38 NIV)

Over the last 10 years I have conducted Christmas Eve services in some unlikely places -- restaurants, firehouses, football-stadium parking lots, and prisons. On Christmas Eve two years ago, I participated as over 350 people, nearly all strangers to one another, gathered for a Christmas Eve service of carols, candlelight and Communion -- in a downtown dance hall and bar. In this unlikely venue, I saw God move in the hearts and lives of people, most of whom never would have stepped through the door of a church. It was a powerful reminder to me that in Jesus, God reveals the intention to encounter us where we are.

Many times those of us in the church forget that Jesus was not born in a church or cathedral; he was born "off-site" in the dirt and dung of a stable for animals. He was born in the midst of the reality of life, not as in some stained-glass portrayal of a royal birth. This was a real God, for real people, in real life. That's what Emmanuel, "God with us," means.

The true miracle of Christmas is not found in the pageantry of a great Christmas Eve service. The true miracle of Christmas is the truth that God is with us in the dirt and dailyness and in the reality and imperfection of our lives.

-- J. Mack Strange in "The Upper Room Online Daily Devotional"

#5250