Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #9: The Incarnation of God

Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #9: The Incarnation of God: "After viewing 'The Nativity Story', analyzing your chosen Christmas carol, and reading Philippians 2:1-7, reflect on the meaning of Christma..."

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

The lyrics of Silent Night was written in Austria by priest Joseph Mohr, and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber. The English translated version of the piece was written in John Freeman Young, a bishop in Florida in 1859.

This song is sung in honor of Jesus's nativity in Bethlehem by Virgin Mary. God sends himself to Earth through a human form where he is born free of sin in order to save the people from their own sins. (He sacrificed himself for the welbeing of everyone.) Also, God sent himself in the form of a baby because the baby is described as, "the lowest of all men, but the highest of all kings". In the movie, Nativity Story, Joseph, Mary's husband, aids Mary all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They encounter obstacles such as the poisonous snake in the river that killed the donkey which Mary traveled on. However, this did not hinder their efforts to travel to their destination. Once they finally arrived, Mary starts to feel great pain, so Joseph begs the townspeople to find his wife a suitable place for Jesus's birth. Luckily, one man aids her into a barn with sheep. The second before Jesus was born, Venus Jupiter, and Io overlapped each other in the heavens and a beam of illuminous holy light entered through a small hole in the ceiling. In the Christmas carol, Holy Night, the last two lines, "Sleep in heavenly peace" shows the tranquility of the atmosphere for Jesus to sleep in after his birth. The shephards also symbolize something really important. Although not included in the song, she shephards were considered the lowest rank of socierty during the time. The fact that Jesus was born in a town with shephards show that Jesus was there for all - even the poorest of the poor. Lastly, the three wise men that appear at the end of the scene give Jesus gold, frakincense, and myrrh. The Myrrh reprents something very important: sacrifice; an action Jesus takes to free the sins of his followers. Jesus is viewed as the Messiah or Savior of the Jews. One of the profecies told in the scriptures of the Bible tell that Jesus will be crucified with with no bone fractured. This is physically possible and can be done, but extremely unlikely. There are many other profecies told, for instance, there will be many who will oppose Jesus and attempt to stone him, but not a single stone will atcually hit him. All these miracles led his followers to think that he was God. Personally, I think that God came to Earth in the form of a human to save his people because he wanted to teach everyone how to live a faithful and munificent life.