I’m not the biggest fan of the carol, “Silent Night.” I don’t hate it, but there are many other carols I’d prefer to sing. But, my objection to the song is just preference so I welcome it’s appearance on Christmas Eve every year. I didn’t always, but I got better.

Still, there has always been a line in that carol which makes my head spin and my brain explode.

“Radiant beams from thy holy face.”

Let’s get one thing straight. Baby Jesus did not have laser beam eyes. A more logical rendering would be “radiance beams from thy holy face.” As in, a radiant divine glow. “Beams” isn’t a noun, it’s a verb.

Just to make my point clear, I created an image to point out the ridiculousness of Baby Jesus shooting radiant beams from his holy face. Those shepherds never saw it coming.