Tuesday - December 24, 2024

Kris Baker

SILENT NIGHT


Silent Night! Holy Night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon godly tender pair

Holy infant with curly hair

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace.


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!

Brought the world gracious light

Down from heaven's golden height

Comes to us the glorious sight:

Jesus, as one of mankind

Jesus, as one of mankind.


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!

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 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.

Translated by Bettina Klein


© 1998 Silent Night Museum


WORDS OF HOPE


The lyrics for this quintessential Christmas carol were written in 1816 by Joseph Mohr, a Catholic priest. Mohr’s original German text was inspired by a winter walk that took him through the streets of Salzburg during the nighttime quiet. It wasn’t until two years later that Joseph Mohr shared his poem with his friend, Franz Xaver Gruber, who then set the text to music with a guitar accompaniment.


“Silent Night” was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818 with Joseph Mohr singing and playing the guitar with the choir of Saint Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. This carol was introduced to others by an organ builder who took a copy of the music and shared it with some traveling singers. Having been translated into over 300 languages, “Silent Night” now has become a beloved part of Christmas celebrations all over the world.


As you read the above words of this carol, you may have found that some of them sound unfamiliar; that is because the typical English version contains only three verses—one, two, and six above. Though the three verses that we typically sing paint a beautiful image of the night of our Savior’s birth, the omission of half of the Joseph Mohr’s original text drastically changes the story that he wrote. Verses 1, 2, and 6 describe the night of Jesus’s birth. 3, 4, and 5 tell of the meaning of the birth of the Christ child.


Verse 3 reminds us of the humanity of Jesus…”Jesus as one of mankind.” We often forget this aspect of Jesus. He walked as one of us and gave us the example of how we are to navigate this world as “one of mankind.”


The fourth verse is a celebration of freedom and peace. Joesph Mohr wrote this poem just as the Napoleonic Wars were ending. Salzburg was one of the last places to be freed from Bavarian occupation. Mohr’s words, “Jesus, all nations on earth” are offered as a prayer of thanksgiving for the peace and freedom that Mohr and the people of Austria have been gifted.


Though Austria at this time was primarily a Roman Catholic state, there were those who were still practicing pre-Christian rituals. Though it was the Catholic Church’s stance that these souls needed to be “saved,” Mohr himself is believed to have been a bit more liberal in his thinking, which led to the text of the fifth verse, which conveys Mohr’s belief that God will redeem ALL of the world.


“Silent Night” is often sung as the final carol or hymn of Christmas Eve services. Aside from making that service a bit longer, what would happen if we all entered into our Christmas celebrations with the message of the complete poem in our hearts? Rather than singing only of an image of a single night, what if we were to include thoughts of Jesus the human being who was sent to bring freedom and peace to all nations and humankind by a God who loves all nations and all humankind? By including these typically omitted verses, “Silent Night” goes from being about an image we see with our eyes to something we can feel deeply in our souls, a feeling that amplifies the meaning of the carol’s final words…”Christ the Savior is born.”



PRAYER


“Christ the Savior is born. All the world is redeemed. Jesus, all nations on earth. Jesus, as one of mankind. Jesus, Lord at thy birth. Sleep in heavenly peace.” Amen.



DEVOTION AUTHOR


Kris Baker

Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare


Previous Posts

Friday - February 21, 2025

By Donna Jackson • February 21, 2025
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Thursday - February 20, 2025

By Jonathon McClellan • February 20, 2025
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Wednesday - February 19, 2025

By Hardy Haberman • February 19, 2025
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Tuesday - February 18, 2025

By Donald (Luke) Day • February 18, 2025
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Monday - February 17, 2025

By Thomas Riggs • February 17, 2025
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Friday - February 14, 2025

By Rev. Dr. Gary Kindly • February 14, 2025
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