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Today’s article will be somewhat different than the things I normally post on this blog since it will discuss the radiant light from Bethlehem.
For this reason, the name of this article is Silent Night, Radiant Light.
I will use the hymn Silent Night, composed by pastor Joseph Franz Mohr in 1818 in Austria as a background to this article.
But I will discuss different topics as well throughout this article.
This hymn is one of the most beloved hymns and is translated into roughly 140 languages.
The version I am using here is the English translation of the German original Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht, written by Episcopal priest John Freeman Young in 1859.
The lyrics that I am using here are published on Wikipedia.
The night is silent, so there isn’t much song and this is something that is repeated 3 times at the beginning of each verse of the hymn.
Later, it also refers to that everything is calm and bright.
The song which was originally composed in German uses the word “Stille” were the English lyrics has silent which could be translated as calm as well.
Now, we come to the interesting part and this will be the starting point for my discussion.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in…
Why Is This Night Holy?
By itself, it is, of course, not holy unless you know what event it refers to.
It refers to the specific night when Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lamb of God, Saviour of humanity was born in the specific time and setting, decided by the Father, the Godhead and Creator of the Heavens and Earth.
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Why Is The Night Calm and Bright?
Because the night is a perfect night, where there are no pains or sorrows, it is the perfect condition.
Just as when Noah sent the dove out from the ark and it returned with an olive branch.
What makes it bright is, of course, Jesus, who is the radiance of God’s divine light and Jesus’s halo makes the night shine bright, which is also a sign that he is the light of the world.
This is something that was recognized by the earliest church fathers as well.
Round The Virgin, Mother and Child
The virgin has become a mother just as the prophet Isaiah (7:14) foretold: “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive a son and his name shall be Immanuel.”
The son’s name
It also reminds me of another passage in the same scroll: Fear not, for I am with you. (Isaiah 41:10)
The implications of this name were discussed more thoroughly in the article published around Christmas in 2017.
Isaiah’s prophecy clearly says that a virgin will become a mother.
It is also something that churches all around the world are confessing: Born by the Virgin Mary, to quote the Apostolic Creed.
Then the lyrics turns to the son once more with the words:
Holy Infant So Tender and Mild
This means that Jesus, who is known for his tenderness and mildness as an adult, already were showing these traits as a newborn.
It is also something we should strive for, as Christians, to achieve every single day in our lives.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
The light of the world was born to Earth and came with the peace from Heaven to a planet with a lot of dismay and hardships for most people in occupied Israel.
Now, the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, also has the underlying meaning that it is a description of the perfect condition both in state and mind as well as between people and nations.
However, the Greek equivalent,
It describes more the state where it is peace among nations.
The reason why I mention this is because this is the two languages in which the Bible is primarily written in, the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.
Jesus comes from heaven and brings peace from
When baby Jesus sleeps it also means that he is at peace in the manger.
This tells me that he has the state of mind is a result of the heavenly peace that he brings to earth.
Shepherds Quake At the Sight
The second verse turns its attention to what happens outside of the secluded environment of the stable where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are.
But what happens outside and why is it important?
The Gospel of Luke (chapter 2) tells us that shepherds are tending their flock, and all of the sudden there is a light that makes the entire heaven shine like broad daylight and they become afraid.
I mean: Who wouldn’t when your world is turned upside-down, right?
We also have to remind ourselves that the normal thing these days where that it was dark out on the fields where shepherds tended the flock with the exception from moonlight and the stars.
It is the main reason why they became afraid when something out of the ordinary happened to them.
This is the reason why the messenger from God always say to humans: Do not fear and as the Gospel says, the same thing unfolds.
Now, the English word angel, comes from the Greek word Angelos.
This word means messenger and so does the Hebrew equivalent Mala’ak.
Since angels are intermediates between heaven and earth, they do carry messages from God to humans and this message is no exception to the rule.
In these days, seeing an angel was the same thing as seeing God.
You needed to cover your face because they are shining so brightly, that you would die if you looked straight at an angel or God.
Remember how brightly the angels were shining compared to the darkness the shepherds were normally experiencing.
Glory Streams from Heaven Afar
Heaven is afar but the glory of God streams down to earth.
From heaven to the stable and manger where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are gathered together with some animals.
Heavenly Hosts Sing Alleluia
The heavenly hosts, which is another phrase for the group of angels, sing God’s praise. They sing Alleluia, which is the Latin rendering of the Hebrew word Hallelujah which: means Praise the Lord.
But the most important message their song are telling the world is:
Christ the Saviour Is Born
There is no need for explanation: The Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ is born.
Now, I will turn my attention to the third verse.
The original German version has six verses but since the most used English translation only have three, this will be the conclusion.
Son of God, Love’s Pure Light
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and also the Light of the World (John 8:12, 9:5), he shines of holiness from the Father’s glory and the darkness has not overcome it, as the Gospel of John says (John 1:15).
Jesus, as the light is something that the church has confessed since 325 AD in the Nicene Creed: Son of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten of the Father, not made, being of one substance with the Father.
Here is the entire text of the Nicene Creed that I have quoted above.
Radiant Beams from Thy Holy Face
Jesus Christ is also the radiance of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:13).
As I discussed above, baby Jesus shines with the glory from the heavenly Father in the world of darkness.
In this part of the hymn, it is important to notice that the English translation is different from the original German that speaks of baby Jesus’ curly hair and not of radiant beams from his face.
With the Dawn of Redeeming Grace
This particular line points that this is the beginning of something new but it also points forward to Easter since it says that Jesus is the Redeemer of humanity.
When it is Easter, it is the redemption which is in focus, now around Christmas it is the miraculous birth.
It also clearly sa that this even happens by God’s grace alone.
Clearly, the word dawn tells me that it is the beginning of something new, that God, the Father shows his amazing grace by allowing His Son to be born in the perfect and appointed time in history.
Now, there is just one line left to cover for me:
Jesus Lord, at Thy Birth
This is the concluding words of the English translation and works as a summary of the entire hymn: Jesus is already made Lord at his birth.
Next Article
My next article will be published on the 29th of December 2018.
It will be a summary of the entire year of 2018.
Merry Christmas,
Rickard
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