in the silence of the night



In the silence of the night, a mother cradles the stark roundness of her stomach and lets out a soft sigh.

The stars that were shining that night, shone with an added measure of brilliance. Never before had they sparkled with such a glow.

The small stable she was in was nothing more than a tiny indention in a hillside. There was nothing fancy about it. Just a dirt floor with a scattering of hay and a few animals settling in for the night.

As the mother began to realize that the time had come for the baby to be born, she prayed.

In the silence of the night, she communed quietly with God. She knew that which had been revealed to her by an angel was about to take place. Her baby boy - the Christ child - would soon make His grand entrance into the world.

A baby was about to be born that would change everything.

A Holy hush fell over all of Bethlehem that night. The air was tingling with the almighty presence of God. It was heavy with the very fullness of His glory.

Heaven coming down to earth. The Word becoming flesh.

In the silence of the night, Mary rested against the hay. Joseph had readied a small manger and it was filled with tufts of hay. Ready for the infant to be gently placed there after His birth.

As Mary glanced at the empty manger, she tried to imagine the baby nestled deep inside. A baby who would be born King. A baby who would be called the Son of the Highest. The Son of God. A baby that she would call 'Jesus'.

The baby that would change everything.

And Mary smiled and whispered the same words to God that she had uttered that day the angel appeared to her many months before. "Be it unto me according to thy Word."

In the silence of that night, the tiny baby boy made His entrance. From heaven to earth. From God to man. He slipped into this world as an infant that was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Born to a virgin.

His small cries that night filled the whole earth. His mother gently swaddled Him, kissed the precious face of God and lovingly laid Him in the manger.

The Word had become flesh. The baby had been born. They baby that had been born to die. The baby who would change everything.

Full of grace and Truth.

Emmanuel

God with us.

Jesus.

Oh, come let us worship Christ the King!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary;
for thou hast found favor with God.
 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name JESUS." 
(Luke 2:30,31)