We all sat wondering why the choir had not returned from the break until the sound of their voices rose from behind the tall white walls. “Silent night. Holy night,” they sang, and the thick walls swallowed the sound of the ninety-person choir. From outside we heard only their muffled whispers. “Round yon Virgin mother and child.” And we all sat silent.

I wondered who had conceived that great illustration of the Silent Night. The power of the choir was not in their volume, but in their very understated position behind the wall—isolated, hidden, and yet still with us.

“Understated!” I thought, “That’s what it is! Understated.”

Understated describes God sending His Son to be born, not in a castle, or a mansion, not alongside the famous who might claim him as their own, but in a manger where he went unnoticed.

Understated describes God choosing a poor carpenter to surrogate The Son.

Understated describes the Father choosing a confused Jewish girl to birth The Son.

Understated describes The Son born in ignoble Bethlehem, not Jerusalem.

Understated describes The Son, for what it was worth, homeless at His birth.

Understated describes Mary giving birth in the cold stable, no nurse, no doctor, no sedative.

Understated describes the visitation of Continue Reading >>