Silent Night

Bing Crosby’s https://youtu.be/moHobaO9TlM?si=M8EMag0i1Ay_R8Qp

The fall colors are still swirling around us, and our leaves yet need to be raked up, my dahlia tubers dug up and garlic cloves planted before the impending freeze of the season, and yet the commercial world of Christmas is popping up in the aisles. While radio stations may be holding out to play Christmas music until Black Friday, I perennially audiate Silent Night whenever I find tunes stuck in my head that need to be ushered out! And so it is with unashamed curiosity that I delved into this beloved carol. As you look forward to time with family and friends in the coming weeks, may you also be able to spend some reflective silent nights in the hustle and bustle.

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

Silent night, holy night;
shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from heaven afar,
heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
 radiant beams from thy holy face
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth

Silent night, holy night,
wondrous star, lend thy light;
with the angels let us sing
“Alleluia” to our king;
Christ the savior is born!

Mary was greatly troubled at his words … but the angel said to her,
‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.’”
~Luke 1:29-30~

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them,
‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’
…Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
And on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”
~Luke 2:9-14~

It was indeed a cold and silent Christmas Eve day in 1818 in the foothills of the Austrian Alps when twenty-five-year-old Joseph Mohr discovered, to his dismay, the organ would not play. Fearful and frantic, the priest prayed for inspiration and remembered some verses he had written out two years prior, naming it “Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!” Hopeful that he had landed on opportunity despite the disappointing problem, Mohr rushed to the home of Franz Gruber, who was the local school master. Mohr thrust the verses into his hands and asked if he could set the words to music, accompanied by Gruber’s guitar. The midnight mass was saved.

What started out as a predicament on this silent night in 1818 led to a simple lullaby would soon become America’s most popular Christmas carol. God was with Mohr, despite his fear of failure that cold Christmas Eve.

The Word of God is replete with exhortations to not be afraid, one popular suggestion being that it is written 365 times in scripture, one verse for every day of the year. Regardless of the exact number, the implication is clear:  victory over fear is possible when we fix our eyes of faith on the Lord.

Joseph Mohr’s song revolved around ordinary people who God used in extraordinary circumstances. It seems God’s way often favors the ordinary to proclaim the extraordinary. After all, the lyrics to “Silent Night” revolve around a teenage mama who raised a few eyebrows due to her unmarried status, and shepherds whose reputation had drawn suspicion by this point in history.

Born to humble parentage, in an obscure village, and announced to an unlikely audience, Jesus made his entrance. Mary was the ordinary girl who found favor with God even as she faced the fear in her trouble.

“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.’”
~Luke 1:30~

The shepherds were also ordinary men, and the cultural context that confined them was negative. Their former reputation of dignity of Old Testament times was past, and by this point in history they were social outcasts; yet, the angel was not sent to a more auspicious audience, but to this class of peasants. Silent night after silent night, their despised occupation afforded only one entertainment:  watching the night sky as they kept their flocks from danger.

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them,
‘Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’”
~Luke 2:9-10~

Taking just a couple other examples of this comforting exhortation, we find Joshua commissioned to lead the Israelites and called upon to be courageous and prepare the people to possess the promised land.

“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
~Joshua 1:9~

Matthew 14 contains not a few major and compacted life events. Jesus’ cousin John is beheaded; in the midst of his grief, he ministers to and feeds a crowd of five thousand (not including women and children who were present); he appears to the disciples walking on a stormy sea; upon landing at the other side, he heals the sick.

“Take courage; it is I; do not be afraid.”
~Matthew 14:27~

He walks with us through our troubles; He is present with us through what looks to be our ordinary watches of the night; He strengthens us for the battles of life; He stills our anxious hearts in the storms of our circumstances.

We, too, are ordinary people with whom God can work through in extraordinary ways. It is in our darkest nights when we need to remember the light can shine the brightest. It is among the shards of a broken spirit that God’s light can shine through us, giving hope to others around you. It is in our ever so silent nights that we must still our spirits to hear His voice saying, Do not be afraid.