Reflection for Christmas Eve, 2022
Scriptures: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Luke 1:1-7
Key Verse: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)
In worship, one of my favorite rituals on Christmas Eve is lighting each other’s candles while singing ‘Silent Night! Holy Night.’ One time, at a church I was serving, our musician was out sick, so we brought in a substitute pipe organist to play for Christmas Eve worship. The week before the worship, he enthusiastically told us about the special arrangement of ‘Silent Night! Holy Night!’ for pipe organ. We thought that having something new wasn’t a bad idea at all and it might make our Christmas Eve worship unforgettable.
That evening, when the music ‘Silent Night! Holy Night!’ was played, we noticed that the introduction didn’t sound like the tune we were familiar with. Then the song leader began to sing along to the magnificent sound of the pipe organ. It was beautiful, but no one joined in the singing. As the sanctuary lights began to dim, the candles in our hands gradually lit up our worship space. When the music finished, we didn’t blow out the candles but waited in silence for something.
Then someone said, “How about our ‘Silent Night! Holy Night’?” At that moment, I wondered what our silent night is, and what our holy night should be. It was interesting for me to see that the unfamiliar arrangement of the music could stop us from singing even though we could tell it was ‘Silent Night! Holy Night!’ Without much time to think about the singing, we focused on lighting our own candles in order to shine for others to get their lights. That was our silent night and holy night. And yes, there will be times when we know God is with us but might not be ready to join God's mission right away.
Most of us like familiarity, routines, and built habits. But God shows up in our life not only to love us and bless us with a secure and stable life. God also tests us and challenges us to grow our faith. When that happens, we might not know right away what to do, but in silence, may we remember God is with us through the life of Jesus and through our siblings in Christ, who are the image of God.
The song ‘Silent Night! Holy Night’ makes me think of God’s presence among us. And the light in our hand is the sign that points us to see God’s power and splendor for we know that God’s presence among us is always magnificent as the Psalmist describes in 96:6.
On that Christmas Eve, the organ player did us a favor by playing the familiar tune that we all knew of. From our silent night to God’s holy night, we sang to the Lord humbly and blew out the candles with confidence. That was our silent night in God's holiness. Amen.
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