"Silent Night," is it your favorite Christmas carol? It certainly is mine. And here is my shallow reason: As a young, aspiring church pianist, I treasured this Christmas carol because it was easy to play! In fact, I can probably play it in my sleep, even today! The beautiful music is simple yet profound. How I relished this beautiful carol and dreaded the sweet, "O, Little Town of Bethlehem!" which is an enigma to me. Sounds precious, but plays hard! But "Silent Night" is a treasure. It is called "the Christmas carol heard 'round the world."
The history of "Silent Night" gets a little bit complicated. The author of the words was Joseph Mohr, who wrote the inspirational lyrics over 180 years ago in a small village in Oberndorf, Austria. He was a modest choir director whose best friend, Franz Gruber, put the music to the lyrics. The two men actually performed their composition together for the first time on Christmas Eve 1818. After that, the history of the song developed into a traveling folk song, performed far and wide. It was sung for the first time in America in 1839 at the Trinity Church in New York City.
All the historical facts have probably left you "glazed over." But there is a treasure in the story. The most famous carol of all time brought income to the author, Joseph Mohr. Yet, he died penniless in 1848. His life story began in poverty in 1792, he was gainfully employed all his life in the priesthood and made modest gains in revenue from Silent Night. Yet, he died penniless. What did he do with the money he made in his lifetime? The fact is that he donated it all, not just the amount he could claim as a tax deduction, but all of it to be used for elder care and the education of the children of the area. These words were used to describe the author of Silent Night, "a reliable friend of mankind, toward the poor, a gentle, helping father." What an awesome tribute! And what a legacy of faith… a simple, modest man who made a difference; a man who gave all he had to those in need. It has been suggested that part of the miracle of "Silent NIght" is that it was penned from a man's imagination by the hand of God.The author was never internationally known like Irving Berlin who wrote "White Christmas," but you can bet all your earthly treasures that Joseph Mohr's name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life!
"Only those in the eternal heaven whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (dwell there)." Revelation 21:27
"Jesus said, 'Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?….Feed my lambs." John 21:15
Pray:
Precious Lamb of God, may the words of "Silent Night" pour into our hearts as we worship you at Christmas. May the simple words of the silent night when you were born give us a new joy in you as the baby who came to save us all. Thank you for your humble servant, Joseph Mohr, and may the blessings of his simple Christmas carol speak to us this year. Amen
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