I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play, 

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men!

     – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What unexpected words to use for the Christmas Eve message of the angels. What is wild and sweet about the birth of Christ — the coming of the savior? Plenty.

To start with there is the fact that the announcement was unexpected. Not that the whole Jewish world and some wise kings weren’t waiting. He is known as the long-expected Jesus. But no one was expecting Him on this night, and most certainly, not this way.

The humble birth of Jesus never ceases to amaze me. Like so much of what transpired during His birth, life, death and resurrection, there was no way any human mind would have scripted this. The humble life of Christ is all the proof any of us should ever need of His authenticity and His divine origin. The King of kings born in a stable manger? Not the way Hollywood would do it, and certainly not any Jewish leaders who were hoping for this. Jesus snuck in when no one was looking.

And yet the universe was itching for grandeur. Somebody had to know what was really going on here. Somebody had to be witnesses to the divine intervention into the human race. A few shepherds? Perfect. No one will believe them anyway.

Something had to break through the stillness. There had to be some formal announcement. Send in the angels. Send in the angelic choir! Send in a multitude of the heavenly host. Now that’s wild! Waste it on a handful of nameless shepherds. No matter, somebody has to know; preferably nobody important. Who knows what someone important might do with the information? The shepherds are just going to marvel. They’ll tell enough people to get it written down in history. That’s all God wanted — that, and a little concert from the choir for the rest of the universe to see.

So when you think of it this way, “wild” is the perfect word. It was the wildest of nights.

“Do not be afraid,” announced the angel. “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).

And sweet? That’s a little easier. Sweet is the salvation He brought to all mankind. A cause of “great joy for all the people.” “Sing that sweet, sweet song of salvation,” sang Larry Norman, “and let your laughter fill the air.”

It’s sweet because it’s free. It’s sweet because it’s God’s grace given to us. It’s sweet because it’s the best thing that could ever happen to us.

It was a silent night. It was a holy night. It was a wild, sweet night. And wild and sweet, the words still repeat “of peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

Sweet.