“The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.’ ”
Luke 2:11-14 (NLT)
At a university I attended before Ottawa, I sang with a group that was in the midst of performing our Christmas repertoire one December. Our closing number was a gorgeous arrangement of “Silent Night” that was quite a favorite. The audience had enjoyed “refreshments,” had finished their nice dinner, then we were their entertainment as representatives of the university. Two-thirds of the way through the song was its climax. It was loud and the harmonies were beautiful before it tapered to a sweet, soft ending, but an obviously inebriated gentleman near the front began screaming at us, “That is NOT ‘Silent Night!!’” It was a shock and a bit of a rough ending to the evening for us.
It does make one ponder that beloved Christmas carol and the night of Jesus’ birth. So many loud things happened – angels praising, birthing momma’s cries, newborn baby wails, other exclamations, and perhaps some animal noises. I imagine our song interrupter was upset that the song was loud when he thought it should be soft (silent?) – but I hoped he might have known the true story of Jesus’ birth with all its various dynamics. Our arrangement of the song being both loud and glorious and soft and sweet seemed quite fitting.
An Austrian priest, Josef Mohr, wrote the poem, “Stille Nacht,” in the early 1800’s to commemorate the coming of peace after the turbulent Napoleonic wars and years later, Franz Gruber wrote the music for guitar and two vocalists. The desire for peace must have been so intense and a lullaby must have seemed most appropriate. God’s plan to give us the Prince of Peace didn’t begin with the night Jesus was born, but long before sin entered the world. Since then, we’ve experienced constant warring and our present state is no different – whether it is between countries, within a country, between political parties, in families, or within our own souls. May we find moments of peace this season as we celebrate the birth of the only One who can truly bring us peace.
Submitted by Rev. Melody d. Walden
Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, help us this Advent season to slow down, be still, and remember that you are God and that you gave us the greatest gift of all in your Son, Jesus. Grant us Your peace that passes all understanding. Amen.