Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  

Today is the day we’ve been waiting for. By now, the presents are unwrapped, the food--if there is any left--is officially called “leftovers.”  For some, you can’t believe how fast Christmas arrived; for others you can’t wait until it’s over. Hopefully, you made it to a Christmas Eve service that inspired you and gave you a dose of hope, joy, peace, and love.  

One of my favorite things about Christmas day is seeing the city quiet. Most stores are closed. There is no traffic. Many driveways are full of cars, a sign that a family or group of people have chosen to be together.  

I enjoy the feeling of having permission to eat more than I should, take a nap, watch a little football, play with the grandkids, enjoy the family, and feel zero inclination to work on anything.  

We closed all fourteen of our Christmas Eve services singing “Silent Night” and lighting candles. There’s no way to describe what I get to see from the stages of our four worship venues. For me, it’s both powerful and emotional. It is a visible demonstration of the power of light.  

When three thousand people lift their lit candles for the last verse, the room with hundreds of light fixtures needs none of them. The candles fill the room.

I’m always moved by the thought that in that moment, we are all pretty much the same: each of us undeservedly loved, each of us forgiven, each of us equally in need of hope, joy, peace, and love.

That moment demonstrates a togetherness and a unity that I wish could be lived out every day.

Silent Night came into being as a song in a most unusual way.  It was the early eighteen hundreds and preparations were under way for Christmas services at a church in the Austrian Alps.  A few days before Christmas, the priest was informed that the organ was broken. The priest decided they would need to write a Christmas carol that could easily be sung by the congregation without the sound of the booming organ leading the way. The song was written and given the title of “Silent Night.”

The song will celebrate its 200th year in 2018 and it is still one of the all time favorite Christmas songs:

Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright.

Round yon virgin mother and child,

Holy Infant so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,

Shepherds quake at the sight.

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heavenly hosts sing alleluia;

Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,

Song of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus Lord at Thy birth.

Jesus Lord at Thy birth.

I encourage you to read the Christmas Story as recorded in Luke 2. If you are alone, sing the song. If others are around, have them join you. And then thank God that because of Jesus, all is calm, all is bright, and we can be at peace.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.