Silent Night
Journey to the Nativity • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Silent Night
Silent Night
The great Christmas Hymn “Silent Night” was written in 1816 by a young priest in Austria, Joseph Mohr. Austria had just gone through a tumultuous time with the Napoleonic wars. As the story goes, the priest went for a walk, and as he looked out over a very quiet, winter-laden town, he was inspired by the beauty of the white snow and the silence it carried with it. He literally experienced a “silent night,” a “holy night.”
Journey Video
Peace
Peace
Peace is the feeling I most get during the Christmas season.
I recognize, this is not the case for everyone.
The hurting… lost loved ones.
The suffering… those physically ill.
The anxious ones… those whom battle their own minds.
The lost… those who are lonely and lost, wondering if anyone cares.
As we gather together this Christmas Eve, maybe your life has been tumultuous. Maybe you find yourself in one of the categories of people I just mentioned.
Even for those of us who may not be battling something at this time, I am sure it has been busy and quite possibly chaotic few weeks leading up to now. No doubt, our world seems to become more and more tumultuous by the minute for us all.
In light of these things, tonight, I want us to do our best to experience the silence and the holiness that is found in the presence of God. The peace that He brought into the world that fateful night, as well as the peace He offers us in this very moment.
To do that, we’ll focus on the comforting words of a Psalm written some 700 years before Christ was born in a manger, Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
The Birth Foretold
The Birth Foretold
Imagine the tumultuous time of Jesus’s birth being foretold to this young teenager, Mary.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “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.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Young and betrothed to a man, and yet now she is told she is going to have a child by the Holy Spirit, not her husband.
How would she explain this to him? What would his response be? What will people think?
This, fear and anxiety.
Once again, in the Mighty Angel’s message, we see those familiar words: “Do not be afraid.”
We’ve been made aware of multiple people around us that have lost loved ones this year, even in the past month or so.
For one, her husband passed leaving her with two special needs children to raise on her own. How can she, “not be afraid?” How can she not have fears and anxieties of how they’ll make it?
Facebook - someone else just this morning wrote in a group how they were considering taking their own life due to their battle with anxiety and depression.
It is only, by an act of God that I believe these people can find peace during this time.
The Psalmist writes:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
This is what we celebrate this Christmas and every Christmas. “God with us,” our Immanuel. He is our “ever-present” help in the midst of our pain and trouble.
When we were helpless and weak, God showed up in a way that we could relate to, helpless and weak. A baby in a manger. However, that baby was our refuge and strength.
I love the term “ever-present”. It reminds us that while God became physically present in Jesus Christ on that first Christmas, it also reminds us that he would not just be present for a time. That baby would grow up and say, “I am with you always.”
Not only that, but Jesus is the “ever-present”! That is, he is the best Christmas present ever and the gift that keeps on giving. For he gives abundant life and eternal life.
Joseph’s Dream
Joseph’s Dream
God made Himself ever-present for Mary, as He took care of the problem of her “unplanned” pregnancy Himself.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Again, God delivers that familiar message, “Do not fear.”
He assures Joseph, that though this make look to be difficult, it is God’s doing and He has a purpose in it that is higher and greater than anyone could ever imagine.
When difficult times come upon us, we may lose hope. We feel as though things are too hard, too bad, and we may find ourselves doubting that anything good can come of it. In truth, we find our trust faltering.
Trust
Trust
The antidote to fear and anxiety is trust. Trust in His promises. Trust that He is still the Immanuel, God with us.
That Psalmist goes on to say:
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
What a proclamation of trust! We will not fear the Psalmist says.
If this beautiful gift of Jesus, the ever presence of God, provides refuge, strength, and help in troubled times, what shall we fear!
Too much of our lives are lived in fear. However, time and again, we hear the voice of the angels say, “Fear not” in our Christmas stories. The Psalmist reminds us not to fear about anything. “Though the earth gives way, the mountains fall, the waters roar.”
Jesus Himself said, “do not worry about these things.” “Do not fear.”
In other words, even if you feel your world is falling apart, choose to trust that He is with you in your difficult times as well as your good times.
The whole story of Christmas is that God is with us! What’s it like when we trust that God is with us?
Psalm 46 then draws a picture for us:
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
Did you know that studies have proven that running water, such as a river or stream, has a stress-reducing effect that is not found in music or silence?
The river in this verse is a metaphor for God's strength, peace, and the hope and refreshment that only God can provide. At the same time, the strong current of a river is so powerful. This illustration is a beautiful picture of the power and peace that only God provides.
The Journey
The Journey
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The journey of life can throw all sorts of things in our way. Here Mary and Joseph were getting ready to have a baby and all of sudden circumstance changes. There’s a long journey before them. They’ve got to travel some 90 miles on foot to Bethlehem, a little whole in the wall kind of place.
Life happens right? No matter your own personal plans, they are often interrupted by some circumstance you couldn’t control. A diagnosis, a loved one lost, a job terminated, and even a once in a thousand year natural disaster just before the Holidays as we have seen here locally.
How again, do we find peace? I’ve wondered about the conversations between Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem at 9 months pregnant. Tiresome and weary of the journey just a few days in no doubt. Some say it was a 4 day journey, and others say it could have been a week or more on foot.
Like that person in the FB Group I mentioned earlier, the journey of life can be overwhelming. It can seem as though the struggle will never end. And the truth is, for some of us, that is the truth. The pain, the tumult, the hurt, the sickness, doesn’t end.
The Lord hasn’t yet unfolded the end of the trip for you. He hasn’t raised the dead whom you may have lost this year.
So, where is your peace? Where shall you find it? How shall you find it?
Immanuel
Immanuel
The Psalmist says:
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
There is that phrase again: The Lord is with us.
In the Christmas story recorded in Matthew, we are reminded that Isaiah prophesied, “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.” That name means “God with us.”
The same God who created the world and put us in the garden with him never stopped wanting to be with us. In his great plan, he would come and not only be with us but save us from ourselves so that we could be together forever.
He saves us from ourselves.
It’s easy for us to “come to the end of ourselves” in the midst of our personal trials. We’re only human right? We are weak and humble.
What shall we do when we are overwhelmed by life’s circumstances? We shall wait on the Lord.
That comes from a favorite verse of mine, found in Isaiah:
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
But understand, it isn’t about you regaining your own personal strength, it is about receiving His strength.
He is mighty. He is all powerful. He has brought desolation to the earth and he has made wars cease the Psalmist tells us. He brings peace.
The all mighty, powerful God is a God of peace.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!”
Again we see that, “fear not,” statement. The angels had come with good news of great joy, that is for all people.
For unto you, and unto me, born this day, is Christ our Savior and Lord.
“Peace on earth, good will to all.”
Peace. Not a lofty dream, but a promise. It is a promise to us all that peace, true peace was given to us through the child, Jesus.
The Babe and His Peace
The Babe and His Peace
Some 700 years prior to His birth, Isaiah prophesied His coming. He wrote to a “people who walked in darkness, those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness.”
Maybe you’ve felt that you have been living in this deep darkness. Maybe you feel as though you will never escape it. You fear it will overtake you.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The people in darkness, technically Zebulun and Naphtali, two tribes of Israel situated in the northernmost part of the land, near the region of Galilee. These areas bore the brunt of constant invasion and destruction.
They were the passageway for invading armies like the Assyrians and Babylonians, causing them to be repeatedly trampled, leaving their people in a state of distress, fear, and seeming abandonment.
They were the first to feel the force of foreign oppression and likely wrestled with deep questions of God's presence and power.
“Why do we keep getting picked on? Why doesn’t God give us a break? What have we done wrong to deserve this? Does God have enough power to take care of all this? How will life ever be good again? These were likely the cries of their hearts as they endured suffering over generations.
Maybe you too have wrestled with similar questions given your own circumstances.
Can you see how these questions might be that heart’s desire for peace in those lands? “Will we ever see peace from all of this chaos and trouble?”
It’s in this very context of gloom and despair that God, through Isaiah, speaks a powerful word of hope.
But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
This promise highlights the grace of God. The very land that was humiliated and decimated would become the place of honor and restoration. Galilee, once a site of suffering, would become the stage for Jesus’s ministry—the light breaking into the darkness.
Those very areas that had suffered so much were allowed by God so see so much when God shined the light of his Son by having him grow up and do the majority of His ministry there.
Psalm 46 continues:
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
The psalmist is now quoting the Lord himself.
Can you hear him? “Be still.”
Oh, how we want to. We want to be still. But there is so much to do. Life is chaotic. Our world is tumultuous.
You may be thinking, “Be still? In this storm? I’m lucky not to fall out of the boat!” Good news! That baby in the manger would grow up and find himself with a group of fishermen in a tumultuous, chaotic storm. And what did he do? He stood to his feet, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Be still!”
And the storm listened.
How do we experience a “silent” and “holy” night? We choose to be still?
We choose to trust the Captain of the ship. We choose to let go of trying to fix and control everything. We choose to be still as an act of faith. Faith that God is God and I don’t have to be.
We choose to be still for a moment, and instead of worrying about the world, or just tomorrow, we trust that God will be exalted among the nations. God will be exalted in the earth.
And we remember, “The Lord Almighty is with us!”
O Holy Night Video
Tonight, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, we are reminded that He is our refuge. Just as the psalmist encourages us to "be still and know that I am God," let us take a moment to pause, reflect, and embrace the peace that comes from trusting in His divine plan.
In the midst of our sadness, our pains, our struggles, our heartaches, our fears and our doubts, we can find peace in knowing that God is with us, guiding us through every storm.
God is our refuge and strength, our ever-present help in trouble.
God is with us. Our Immanuel. Jesus our Savior.
May this Christmas Eve fill our hearts with peace, joy, and the assurance that we are never alone.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
