Silent Night
Notes
Transcript
Prayer
Turn with me briefly in your Hymnals to Hymn Number 71.
Silent Night! Holy Night!
And they came…and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe…Luke 2:16
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Today we are continuing our Carols series, where I am using different Christmas Carols as the outline for the messages in leading up to Christmas Day. And this Hymn…this Christmas Carol that was written by Father Joseph Mohr in 1818 has for the past 226 years allowed followers of Christ to reflect in simplicity the significance of what it means for Christ the Savior to be born.
When I think of Silent Night, or Stille Nacht in German, for that is where Father Mohr and Frantz Grüber, his friend, local school master as well as his organist at the church originally wrote the words and music for this beloved Christmas Carol. I am transferred to a time in my life as a young kid being taken to either the Midnight Mass at The All Saints Episcopal Church in Brookland, PA, for that is where my Mom’s family went to celebrate Christmas, or to the Park United Methodist in Coudersport for their Christmas Eve because that’s where my dad’s family went to church. We didn’t go to church but at Christmas or Easter, or when my grandma had us go with her every know and then. We were what you call “Chreasters” And it was at these Christmas Eve services where I was amazed I was allowed to play with fire while we sang silent night. I didn’t understand what was going on back in those days because I had no reference for anything they were doing. I didn’t understand the litergy. I didn’t understand the sit down, stand, sit down, kneel on your prayer cushion, sit down, come up here to get this nasty tasting wafer and drink this watered down wine, which they gave even to the kids! But i did like the Christmas eve service because when the lights were dimmed, and the room was lit up with all these little candles, and I got to hold one, I learned this song, which resonated with my soul and I didn’t even know why. And now…When I think of Silent Night, I do understand all the religousness behind what was going on back then but now when I think of Silent Night my mind immediately goes to the Shepherds, and likely, that is where many of us go…so let’s read the bible together.
Luke 2:8-20…
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
So let’s start with verse 8.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Shepherds were out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Keeping Watch.
A watch- to stay awake and alert
Night Watch- why ? because danger was present. And the shepherds could be present to fend of predators.
Lions, Bears, Wolves
The Syrian Brown Bear and the Asiatic Lions are now extinct from the area but to this day there are still Arabian Wolves…
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
In fact, keeping watch is a common thread you will find running all through the Scripture. Jesus was having his disciples keep watch the night before his arrest while he was in the garden praying…
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
The disciples were to keep watch with Jesus by staying alert and praying with and for Him
Jesus instructs us all to keep watch for his return.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
We are to keep watch so that the enemy doesn’t take us down.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Pastors/Shepherds are to keep watch over our own souls as well as the sheep in our flocks…
28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
It is my job, as your shepherd to keep watch and pray. To make sure you are being taken care of in your soul and spirit. To lead you into pastures where you can graze upon the word of God.
In Zechariah 11 we are told what an unwise/foolish shepherd looks like…
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
So the inverse, or a wise shepherd will care for the lost.
They will seek the young…
They will heal the injured
And they will feed the healthy.
That was these shepherds jobs…to care for their flock, and to keep watch over them by night.
And I wonder how many times these shepherds would look upon the night sky and wonder as they wander out under the sky…
I love the night sky. Don’t you? One of my favorite things this time of year is to track Orion, the hunter. He’s always been my favorite constellation and he is only visible in our night sky during this time of year.
So after it gets dark and we have to take the dogs out to do their business, the first time or earlier in the night, he is just visible upon the horizon to the south. His belt of three stars gives him away, but as the night progresses he rises higher and higher until you can see his legs, his torso and his bow.
But as I look out at the stars in the sky and I ponder how amazing it is that they are held in their place I think about the reality of my insignificant life. I think about how peaceful and calm it is here. I take a moment and reflect upon the grandure of our God in the simple things.
And I think about how we can have silence, peace, stillness. Because in my scientific mind, when I think about how Orion is travelling through the night sky and just in the course of a few hours he moves a significant distance I am reminded that right now at this very moment we are travelling over 1,000 miles per hour.
The earth is spinning on it’s axis at a rate of 1,000 miles per hour.
And not only that…but if you take into account the earths revolotion around the sun each year we are travelling at a speed of 67,000 miles per hour through space…
And yet…even though we are travelling so fast and so far…stillness, peace, Silence.
And I today I wonder if the shepherds had similar thoughts as they were out at night keeping watch over their flocks.
In Psalm 46:10
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The song silent night, holy night. Reminds us that God shows up to regular people, doing their regular duties and prompts them to reflect upon the amazing reality that God decided to show up as a baby.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
He showed up to the shepherds…they are just regular people doing a regular job. But here he sends an angel to deliver the long anticipated news that the Messiah, the Savior of the world has been born in the town of Bethlehem, but this Messiah is a baby, lying in a manger.
And then a heavenly host appeared, what a sight! And these shepherds were witnesses of a heavenly song of praise declaring
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
I’ve often said that peace is not the absence of conflict but a realization of God’s presence in the midst of conflict.
Last week we talked about all the conflict in the lives of Mary and Joseph. But God continued to show up and bring them hope and peace.
Peace. This baby in a manger is going to bring peace. But not this worlds peace.
Jesus went on to say… John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
So the shepherds hear this praise from heaven, and they decided…we need to go and see this!
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Mary pondered them in her heart.
Church, my hope for us this Christmas, as we prepare to celebrate and buy gifts and eat cookies is that we reflect upon the amazing reality that God became man and dwelt among us. And we can in silence and stillness reflect upon the light of the world that has come to dwell with us. And even if you world seems to be spinning at a rate you cannot keep up with. God has promised us peace. Not a life free of conflict, but a realization that he is among us. He is with us.
As we sing silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. We ponder the simple truth that we can be still and know that He is God. And we can treasure up these special moments where we recognize that God has been among us.
And we can like the shepherds then… glorify God and praise him for all the things we have seen and heard.
