Over in the Barton’s cabin, Lila always kept music playing while she slept. Luke doesn’t actually tell us that Mary was in a barn with sheep and goats, but he does tell us there was a manger, which was a feeding trough for animals (see Luke 2:6-7). About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. Support Lead at Valet, and Proprietor of DYECASTING. She pushed as sweat beaded on her forehead. She shaped his childhood, and she wept at his tomb. These newlyweds were about to have a baby, no family around, and they couldn’t even find a place to stay for the night. God was working to transform the world. The Roman authorities did not care that Mary was nine months pregnant. Talk about disappointment and the shattering of expectations! They’re difficult. So as you prepare for a Christmas service or a Christmas dinner, think about that night, the night, that Jesus came from Heaven to earth. Maybe it was not a silent night, but maybe it was a holy night. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. She pushed as sweat beaded on her forehead. Where would this feeding trough have been? Lyrics to 'Not So Silent Night' by Point Of Grace. It was not a silent night, there was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry in the alleyway that night on the streets of David's town And the stable was not clean and the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace with tears upon her face had no mother's hand to hold It … It was not a silent night. It was not a silent night. Not A Silent Night: The Piercing of Mary's Soul. Joseph wiped her brow and told her a hundred times that he loved her, he loved her, he loved her. She would be the mother of Jesus Christ. Holy infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.” It was not a silent night There was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry In the alleyways that night On the streets of David's town And the stable was not clean And the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace With the tears upon her face Had no mother's hand to hold It was a labor of pain It was a cold sky above   And then there’s our Christmas, and it’s far from perfect. Silent night, holy night! The sounds of life, and love, filled the compound - proving Pepper right. Her child was the King of kings. Early church tradition has it located in a stable or cave behind or under a house. No, it was not a silent night. In 1816, an Austrian priest named Josef Mohr wrote the words to a Christmas carol for his own congregation, to be sung on Christmas Eve: Mary and Joseph were living in Nazareth, but Joseph’s ancestral village, his hometown, was Bethlehem. Today’s post is an excerpt from Not a Silent Night. She strained and groaned and fought for every breath. Will my child survive? But as the song progresses, it’s increasingly about the peace he brings, not the quiet he might have enjoyed that night. It was a labor of pain It was a cold sky above A night in a small, overcrowded town with a newborn baby doesn’t sound silent or calm at all. “Not a Silent Night” John 3:16, say it with me, “For God so loved the world … There was blood on the ground. And the stable was not clean And the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace With the tears upon her face Had no mother’s hand to hold. Amazed, Astounded, Astonished. So on one hand we have the perfect Christmas with Mary and Joseph and the baby. In other words, think of the place where Mary gave birth as a first-century parking garage. It Was NOT a Silent Night. Service Type: TWH. The song has been recorded by many singers across many music genres. She pushed as sweat beaded on her forehead. On the streets of David's town. Swept up in waves of pain and contractions, Mary continued to push and breathe and strain while time passed. Think about it: if all were calm and bright in the world, Christmas wouldn’t be necessary. After all, on that first Christmas Mary gave birth! The stage has been set and it’s time for the Big Day. Your email address will not be published. And the stable was not clean And the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace With the tears upon her face Had no mother’s hand to hold. It was not a silent night, there was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry in the alleyway that night on the streets of David's town And the stable was not clean and the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace with tears upon her face had no mother's hand to hold. The disappointment got worse when they arrived in Bethlehem. “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright round yon virgin mother and child. Sunday, November, 29, 2015. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. He asked her if there was anything he could do. All was not calm.   It was not a silent night There was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry In the alleyways that night On the streets of David's town And the stable was not clean And the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace With the tears upon her face Had no mother's hand to hold It was a labor of pain It was a cold sky above A fast read to make you think about all that Jesus stands for. Swept up in waves of pain and contractions, Mary continued to push and breathe and strain while time passed. In 1816, an Austrian priest named Josef Mohr wrote the words to a Christmas carol for his own congregation, to be sung on Christmas Eve: “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright round yon virgin mother and child. It Was Not a Silent Night. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. She strained and groaned and fought for every breath. Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce of 1914 German and British troops celebrating Christmas together during a temporary cessation of WWI hostilities known as … But as I wiped down yet another surface with Lysol I kept thinking. There is a fear that lurks in the shadows whispering: “What if it goes wrong?” “What if I am not ready?” “What if there isn’t enough?”. Close. John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. If Mary was like any other expectant mother, she would have felt anxious and probably fearful. Mary had been planning to have her child in her home, likely in a room that may have been added to her parents’ home in Nazareth. And the cobblestones were cold. Nov 28, 2014. Introduction: Illustration (humor): Christmas is a time of surprises. It Was Not A Silent Night. There’s pain and suffering. Required fields are marked *. Luk 2:1-7 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. December 16, 2018 Our hope this advent is to be, like Mary, amazed and astonished Preacher : Rev. It was joyous. And little Mary full of grace. And there have been plenty of times this has been the case — whether it be reality or expectations that have soared too high — we all have been disappointed or have disappointed, and it’s easy to wonder if anything turned out right. Luke tells us that Caesar Augustus, emperor of Rome, decreed that a census be taken and that everyone return to the ancestral village of the head of the household. Swept up in waves of pain and contractions, Mary continued to push and breathe and strain while time passed. I don’t imagine it was silent. It’s likely that on the trip, tears were shed. I am reading a chapter every Sunday of Advent. She strained and groaned and fought for every breath. It was a labor of pain It was a cold sky above It was not a silent night There was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry In the alleyways that night On the streets of David’s town. With the tears upon her face. Love was, indeed, loud. Joseph wiped her brow and told her a hundred times that he loved her, he loved her, he loved her. Holy infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.”. [ This post was inspired by Labor of Love from Andrew Peterson’s Behold The Lamb of God ], It was not a silent night There was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry In the alleyways that night On the streets of David’s town, And the stable was not clean And the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace With the tears upon her face Had no mother’s hand to hold, It was a labor of pain It was a cold sky above But for the girl on the ground in the dark With every beat of her beautiful heart It was a labor of love, Noble Joseph by her side Callused hands and weary eyes There were no midwives to be found In the streets of David’s town In the middle of the night, So he held her and he prayed Shafts of moonlight on his face But the baby in her womb He was the maker of the moon He was the Author of the faith That could make the mountains move, It was a labor of pain It was a cold sky above But for the girl on the ground in the dark With every beat of her beautiful heart It was a labor of love For little Mary full of grace With the tears upon her face It was a labor of love. The readings have deeply blessed this season and will continue to shape the way I understand the incarnation -- God With Us. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. It Was Not A Silent Night. Incarnation Reality and Myth. It was not a silent night There was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry In the alleyways that night On the streets of David’s town. Living the Life: The Four Doors that Lead to Greater Faith - Holding it All Together. A lady was preparing her Christmas cookies. He is not afraid of the messiness and deep humanness of Jesus' life and teachings. And then there were the questions that must have been running through her mind: Where will we stay? Keep in mind that Mary was blessed by God, chosen as his handmaiden, and given the most important task any human being would ever have. The #1 Resource for Church Technology Creativity & New Thinking. And all was not bright. It was not a silent night for Mary, but she knew that something important was happening. She and Joseph were forced to make the eighty- to ninety-mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which might have taken nine or ten days for a pregnant woman on foot. (Modern-day illustrations often show Mary riding on a donkey, but the Scriptures are silent on that point.) She was in the midst of the most profound thing God would do in the history of humankind. Tom Mason: It was NOT a Silent Night I've had a bit of a cold this week which has made me tired, and I've been stressed out about money and holidays and teens and the like. God does not promise that life will be easy, but he does promise that in the midst of the animal dung and the noise and the disappointment, he is at work! It was a labor of pain, it was a cold sky above The Night Was Not Exactly Silent Luke 2:15–20 December 21, 2017. He combines personal insight, information from his extensive travel in the Holy Land, and Biblical scholarship into a creative but authentic way of encountering scripture. They’re challenging. It was not a silent night. And the stable was not clean. "Silent Night" (German: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht") is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. You could hear a woman cry. During this season, many of us struggle with that disparity. It was wonderful. For sure, it inspires pictures of baby Jesus sleeping soundly the evening he was born. Take life and live in grace and be humble. Passage: Luke 2. “Not a Silent Night” “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” -John 3:16 Christmas through the eyes of Mary. It was not a silent night There was blood on the ground You could hear a woman cry In the alleyways that night On the streets of David's town And the stable was not clean And the cobblestones were cold And little Mary full of grace With the tears upon her face Had no mother's hand to hold It was a labor of pain It was a cold sky above She went to find a man, his clothes poor, obviously looking for some Christmas odd jobs. It was lovely. In our world there’s adversity. The challenge for us is that our own Christmases seldom measure up to this ideal. **As we look at the town in which Christ was born and on the night Christ was born, we come to a conclusion that the Silent Night we sing about was not so silent after all. Of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary the Piercing of 's... Heritage by UNESCO in 2011 in heavenly peace. ” every Sunday of Advent taken throughout the Empire wiring throughout. 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