I have been thinking of that first Christ-mas night and how silent it was. There was no royal herald racing through town announcing that a king had been born. The bells did not ring. Trumpets did not blast. No one cried out from the rooftops. People were in their beds. Bethlehem was quiet, sleeping on in the darkness.
While everyone slept the seismic event that would change this world forever was happening in a place that protected animals from the elements. A young girl was giving birth to the Light of the World. God’s Dawn was breaking forth, pushing back the darkness. The shadow of death that blanketed this world would soon bow to the Dayspring from on high. Even though no one noticed, nothing would ever be the same.
Isaiah had prophesied of the light: “The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.” [Isa 9:2]
Zacharias repeated that prophecy shortly before Jesus’ birth: “The Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” [Luke 1:78-79]
All was silent. All was quiet. Except for a few shepherds, no one was aware of what was happening. The Dayspring, the Dawn, the Son-rise had come.
How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.
