"how silently, how silently..."

"how silently
how silently
the wondrous gift
is given..."

I hope you enjoy Sarah MacLachlan's rendition of "O Little Town of Bethlehem."  I was praying with these lyrics tonight and realized how "low, sad, and sweet" its message is. 

An expectant mother...a foreigner, in the throes of childbirth...finds no welcome at the inn.  The village is bustling with travelers who have come for the tax season.  The only place to find rest and domicile is a stable.  The only cradle, a manger, where a heavenly host of sheep, cows, and goats take their hay and grain each morning.  

I often think about this place, this Bethlehem.  A night so dark that a star can blaze a trail for kings, shepherds, wisemen, and angels.  Streets that were full of travelers, become still and silent.  There is a hush over the earth as a child of promise is born to the soft lowing of cattle, the lullabies of angels, the hosannas of shepherds, and the weeping of kings. 

I want to be there.  I try to carve out that space in my heart...where a dusty village becomes a sacred sanctuary, and the promise of peace is born among the simple, rough edged moments of my day...navigating traffic, folding laundry, mending socks (yes, I still do that...I like darning...).

Here is the poem that hushed my heart tonight:

there is a stillness
here.
it sings below
the din
of revelrie,
and
the noise of
want.
it is something so
deep,
it
has no color.
it is so vast,
it has
no bottom.
it is so
broad,
it has no
borders.

this is the space
where a
a baby is born
in a manger,
surrounded by
singing stars,
and cooing
kings,
and shepherds
whispering
wisdom
to wisemen...

this is the place,
where a
soldier is the
one with great faith,
the
servant is 
king,
a mother teaches
the master,
the stranger
is a hero...

and women "of
question"
bring
hope to humanity,
a message of
forgiveness
to the Pharisee,
and the
news of a
risen Savior
to sorrowing
disciples

this is the
place of
paradox
this is the silent
sanctuary of
earnest longings
that go
unspoken...but
not unheard.

this is the place where
the darkness is filled
with light,
enemies clasp
hands,
and a nobleman
celebrates
the
simple
story
of
a
fool...one
who
gives a
cup of cool water
to the
prince
and
discovers
that in his hands
is
the
holy grail.

this is the place
where
God and men
do meet,
where blind men see,
sinners become healers,
and the tempted are
fed by angels in the wilderness.
it
is
the place
where the dove
closes her
faltering wings...
sighing
over a new born
earth.

and and it is the
place...in your heart,
where the
innocence of Life,
the babe of Soul,
the child of Spirit,
the
infant son of
an unwed mother is
sent today,
to 
be called...
Wonderful,
Counsellor,
the Mighty God,
the everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace....

I love these moments in the darkness of winter's short days.  When the night sky calls us into deeper reflection and the stars remind us to wait in wonder.  In this space of a young father's hope and a new mother's expectancy....

"...how silently,
how silently,
the wondrous gift
is given.
So God imparts
to human hearts
the
blessing
of His
heaven...."

...right here, right now...on earth.

with Love,

Kate
Kate Robertson, CS