O holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night divine, O night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name, all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord!
O praise His name forever
His power and glory evermore proclaim
O night divine, O night, O night divine

It’s tradition. Every Christmas Eve hundreds gather. We sing carols, listen to the Story, and we always end with Silent Night.

Just the voices and candles. The tune builds, your flame glows and you immediately pass the light on to the person next to you, lighting the entire room. It’s the Gospel.

Silent night, holy night. Son of God, Love’s pure light.

It’s a little after midnight here and I guess some would argue that December 25 isn’t certain, just the decided day to remember Christ’s birth. In a few minutes the sky will still be dark but give it a few hours and dawn will break. Light always comes because Light always wins. If you hold to what you know to be true in the light even when all is dark, you can sing through the night. Light the candles and keep watch … Light is coming.

You may read those words and outside the window dawn has already broken. Maybe you’re all lit up inside today with the magic of Christmas and the wonder of the season turning you back into a child again. I pray that is the case.

But just in case the world outside is bright and you’re still waiting for dawn to break, know the night is holy, too. It won’t be silent forever. Light the candles. Christ has COME!