Christmas post #2 - Silence

Welcome back Christmas fans and all you true believers (Sorry Stan Lee, I couldn't resist). For today's installment of the Christmas songs blog that we'll be visiting the song, Stille Nacht, or 'Silent Night'. A beautiful little song that most people know the words to. It also brings us a bit more into the modern day, since the song wasn't written until the 19th century. Josef Mohr and Franz Gruber sat down and wrote the lyrics and the music in 1818. It was originally composed as Stille Nacht and sung in Saint Nicholas Catholic Church in Oberndorf. It wasn't until 1863 that John Freeman Young translated Stille Nacht into Silent Night, the carol we enjoy today, though there is a lot to be said for hearing the carol in its original German. It is indeed, a very moving piece.

The piece is so moving in fact, that in 1914, the first year of World War 1, it silenced all war and hate. The First World War nearly died in its first year because of this season and faith represented by this song. Sung back and forth by German and British troops across the trenches. The songs, sung in disparate tongues, still conveyed the message of hope, love, and redemption for mankind, and all the guns were silenced. The trenches and no-man's land became a place of celebration as both armies crossed over, ate together, shared Christmas gifts, even played a few good natured games of soccer with one another. In subsequent years, Sir John French and Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien of the British military vowed that it would never happen again, and ordered continuous shellings on Christmas Eve to destroy any peace that might be fostered there in the midst of war. So remember that the next time someone claims that religion is the cause of all wars, point out to them that human beings cause war, and that the love preached by most religions is the counter-agent to war, and has even brought a stop to it.

Without any further ado, Stille Nacht/Silent Night.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute heilige Paar.
Holder Knab im lockigten Haar,
Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!

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.

Silent night, holy night/All is calm, all is bright/'Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Referring to the setting, the very night of Christmas. As the gospel of Luke puts it, "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed" (Luke 2:1). The taxation rolls of the Roman Empire required a census, and the best way to ensure that citizens paid their due taxes, was to have them report to the city of their birth. After all, in one of the largest empires in history, and THE largest Empire in antiquity, it would be very easy for a merchant to claim that he'd paid his taxes in one city, move to another city, and claim he'd already paid his taxes elsewhere. In days where communication took months, even possibly years to reach from one end to the other, and well before the split of Western Rome and East, tax fraud must have been rampant. In order to counteract this, taxes were collected by census rolls which were kept by the Roman government. Joseph and a very pregnant Mary traveled to Bethlehem. By the time they got there, they were some of the last to arrive, so the night of Christ's birth into the world was indeed silent, holy because of His presence, all was calm, and all was bright. Around the Virgin mother, and the Child. The Virgin mother, Mary was born without the taint of Original Sin (Adam and Eve's disobedience to God in Eden), and as such, Jesus was born virginal, meaning that he did not inherit Original Sin from his mother.

Holy infant so tender and mild/Sleep in heavenly peace/Sleep in heavenly peace
The Holy infant, Jesus, was always mild mannered, even into adulthood, Christ was among the meek who subverted his will to the will of his Father. This hearkens to the words of the Lord's prayer "... Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." The peace of heaven is granted by the advent of Christ. And while it may strike you as a bit morbid, many tombstones throughout the world sport the letters R. I. P. standing for Requiescat In Pace, which is a short prayer that the deceased may rest in peace. Because of the coming of the Holy infant, so tender and mild as Jesus was, the dead may rest in peace without fearing the fires of damnation. A very comforting image if you truly stop to think about it.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Gottes Sohn! O wie lacht
Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund’.
Jesus in deiner Geburt!
Jesus in deiner Geburt!

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;
Christ the Saviour is born
Christ the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night/Shepherds quake at the sight/Glories steam from heaven afar/Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia
What sight? The quiet holy night? No. From the Angel that came to the Shepherds. "And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo! The Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid." (Luke 2: 8-9). So why shepherds? Why were they afraid? Why were the hosts singing Alleluia? Who better than lowly shepherds to welcome into the world the Lamb of God? The very Lamb of God who's blood would be shed as the lambs were at Passover during the exile of the Israelites in Egypt? The Lamb of God, who's blood paved the way for salvation of those people to return to God. Why were they afraid? What's there NOT to be afraid of? Picture it. Low campfires, quiet night, nothing happening, then suddenly heaven's glory comes around. It's all a rather frightening experience. Why did the heavenly hosts sing Alleluia? Because of joy. Joy that finally, humanity was getting its Messiah, finally humanity was going to return to closeness and oneness with God.

Christ the Savior is born/Christ the Savior is born
The Alleluia chorus of the angels highlighted this very fact, that Christ the Savior was indeed born into the world.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Die der Welt Heil gebracht,
Aus des Himmels goldenen Höhn
Uns der Gnaden Fülle läßt seh'n
Jesum in Menschengestalt.
Jesum in Menschengestalt.

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
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth

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/Jesus, Lord at Thy birth
The Son of God, as John tells us, "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth." (John 1:14), was indeed love's pure light. Why love? As Saint Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13). As the greatest is Love, so too is the son of God the greatest of the three virtues, Love's Pure Light. Radiant beams from Thy holy face? The very sight of Jesus and the fact that He came into our world brings the redeming grace of God to all of mankind. Going back to John we see the Light there "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:4-5) as well as "That was the true light, which lighteth every man that commeth into the world." (John 1:9). Jesus is the Lord God made flesh, so even from birth, Jesus was the Lord.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Wo sich heut alle Macht
Väterlicher Liebe ergoß
Und als Bruder huldvoll umschloß
Jesus die Völker der Welt.
Jesus die Völker der Welt.

Silent night, holy night,
By his love, by his might
God our Father us has graced
As a brother gently embraced
Jesus, all nations on earth.
Jesus, all nations on earth.

Silent night, holy night/By his love, by his might/God our Father us has graced/As a brother gently embraced/Jesus, all nations on earth/Jesus, all nations on earth.
Jesus' love and presence in the world is not just for the Hebrews or Jewish people of Israel. One of the greatest Apostles and prolific writer in the New Testament, Saint Paul was known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, meaning non-Jews. He was also a Roman citizen, and even in our modern day, there are very few places on Earth where one cannot find a Christian place of worship. The 'brother gently embraced' refers to all of humanity where the love of Christ and God our Father unites all of us.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Lange schon uns bedacht,
Als der Herr vom Grimme befreit,
In der Väter urgrauer Zeit
Aller Welt Schonung verhieß.
Aller Welt Schonung verhieß.

Silent night, holy night,
Long ago, minding our plight
God the world from misery freed
In the dark age of our fathers decreed:
All the world is redeemed.
All the world is redeemed.

Silent niight, holy night/Long ago, minding our plight/God the world from misery freed/In the dark age of our fathers decreed/All the world is redeemed/All the world is redeemed.
In the times before Christ, the descendants of Abraham, that is, the Hebrew people, were very keenly aware of their own sinful nature. The rather rigid code of Hebrew/Mosaic law outlined in books like Leviticus was debated and turned over and debated some more by the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, and the rest. Interpreting and teaching the Laws of Moses was the realm of the rabbis, the teachers of Hebrew society. God the world from misery freed? Living in a state of Sin, or a broken relationship with God, is perhaps the most miserable a human being can ever be. To be separated from pure love, light, and surrounded in darkness. That is the fate that God freed us from by sending His only Son. In the dark age of our fathers decreed All the world is redeemed. It was in this "Age of Darkness", without the Light of God as we saw in John 1:4-5 and John 1:9 that God spoke the Word, the Word that is Jesus Christ as we saw in John 1:14, and thus redeemed all the world.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Alleluja,
Tönt es laut bei Ferne und Nah:
Jesus der Retter ist da!
Jesus der Retter ist da!

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds first saw the sight
Of angels singing Alleluia
Calling clearly near and far:
Christ, the Saviour is born.
Christ the Saviour is born.

Silent night, holy night/Shepherds first saw the sight/Of angels singing Alleluia/Calling clearly near and far/Christ, the Savior is born/Christ the Savior is born.
A reprise of the second verse, reminding us that Christ the Savior is born. Witnessed by the shepherds, the Lamb of God came into the world to save us.



That's about it for today and Silent Night, tune in tomorrow for installment number 3 and see what song we'll be doing then!