"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."

When it’s late into the night and Judah begins to cry, I sing ‘Silent Night.’
It’s my go-to song.
I’m not sure why, but it is.
Of course, as I am singing it to him we have to stop and talk about it.

“Silent Night.”

But it wasn’t!

Mary was in labor. The only birth I’ve ever witnessed is my own and thankfully I do not remember it. However, I know birth is not a silent experience. Mary hurt. She screamed. She bled. She was not silent. The Son of God was welcomed into a hurting world with the sound of cursed pain.

Plus, as another Christmas song reminds us, there was a little drummer boy.

The night was loud, but it was also holy.

“Holy night.”

This was the night everything changed.
This was the night the world had been waiting for.
This was the night mercy met us face to face.
This was the night prophecies and promises were fulfilled.
This night was most certainly holy.

“All is calm.”

All was in fact not calm, Judah.
Mary and Joseph found themselves in the most frustrating of circumstances.
As the story goes, after a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem there was no room in the local inn.
That night, instead of being tucked inside, Mary and Joseph found themselves in a manger.
And that is where Mary gave birth to Jesus.
Outside, surrounded by wild animals and all the smells and noises that come with them.
Jesus was welcomed into a dangerous, oppressive world by two unwed teenagers.
On top of that, King Herod wanted Jesus dead.

“All is bright.”

We are getting carried away with generalization. Sure, the sky lit up when an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the field, but everything was not bright. They didn’t have electricity and it was dark, but bright rhymes with night, so let’s just go with it.

“’Round yon virgin mother and child!”

God handpicked Mary to bring the Savior of the world into the world.
Mary was brave and loving and humble, just like the Son she would give birth to.
I know you’re wondering about that word ‘Virgin.’
We will talk about all of this when you’re older.
All we need to know is that God makes a way where there isn’t a way.
He will do what He needs to do to renew and restore.

“Holy infant, so tender and mild,”

He is Holy.
And loving.
And forgiving.
And gracious.

Tender?
Probably.

Mild?
I don’t know about this.
I’ve read through the Gospels.

Jesus had some spice to Him.

“sleep in heavenly peace,”

And maybe that’s why I am signing you this song.
I’d like for you to sleep.
But I also want you to know about the love God has for you.
That He would send His only Son into the world so that we might have everlasting life with Him.
God did not forget about His people, but He came to us.

There is more to the story.

And I will tell it to you soon, but for now,

“sleep in heavenly peace.”

Please.

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.