Silent Night

December 28, 2025

“Silent Night” – December 28^th, 2025

On December 11^th, 1792, Joe made his appearance in this world. His mother was not married, and, in the time and place of his birth, this marked him as “illegitimate.” His biological father abandoned his mother when he learned that she was pregnant. His godfather carried the dubious title of “the last official executioner” of the town in which Joe was born. According to the custom of the day, the child’s illegitimacy meant that Joe’s mother did not get to choose his name: thus, he was named after his executioner godfather. Joe and his mother were considered outcasts, and as a result, they suffered both financially and socially. However, by the grace of God, a local music minister noticed some special God-given gifts in Joe: his unusually sharp mind and his musical ability. This music minister suggested that his church adopt Joe as a foster child. Joe’s mother agreed, realizing that a good education was the key to his future. That is how Joe began receiving an excellent education, along with music lessons. He gained vocal proficiency, also mastering the violin and organ. In his late teens he sensed that God was calling him to become a priest. Because of his illegitimate status, he required a special dispensation from the Pope to enter seminary. Joe studied hard, graduated, and received ordination.

A couple of years passed. By this time, 26-year-old Joe had also mastered the guitar. Let’s take a little side trip here to talk about the actual guitar he played. It was made of sycamore wood, with a neck of red beech and a bridge made of bone. Joe’s six-string guitar was just over 17 inches long and about 10 inches wide. Other than being a good bit smaller than a lot of six strings you see around here, it was ordinary in every way. What makes this guitar extraordinary is that it became the guitar upon which Joe would play his poem for the first time, on Christmas Eve, 1818.

But wait, where did the music come from? In Alan Vermilye’s book The Carols of Christmas, he explains that Joe’s “congregation was poverty stricken, hungry, and traumatized by war and famine.” Joe “desperately wanted to offer them some comfort during this difficult time while also properly honoring the birth of Christ. He then remembered a poem he had written a couple of years back in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars. The poem contained six poetic verses surrounding the wonder, brilliance, and peace on the night of Christ’s birth … Joe “believed this simple little poem could lift the beleaguered spirits of his congregation if placed with the right melody.” He really wanted to present this song in the special Christmas Eve service.

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

The temperatures hovered around freezing, early in the day, when Joe walked a mile and a half to visit his friend, Frank, in a neighboring town. Frank was an accomplished schoolteacher, choir master, and church organist. Without hesitation, Frank complied with Joe’s request to set his poem to music. Within a few hours, the melody was complete. Joe hurried home and came up with a simple arrangement for guitar and choir. In his book Stories of Christmas Carols, Ernest K. Emurian tells us that “That historic night the song was sung publicly for the first time, receiving from the humble worshippers the acclaim it merited.” Little did Joe or Frank know that Stille Nacht – Silent Night – would eventually be translated into 300 languages and become the most recorded Christmas song of all time. (According to Billboard magazine in 2017, there are over 137,000 known recordings of Silent Night.)

One of my favorite films from our Movie Nights for Thinkers and Seekers was the 2005 war drama film Joyeux Noël. It is based on the true story of what became known as the “Christmas Truce.” Five months after World War I hostilities began, approximately 100,000 British and German troops became involved in the informal cessations of hostility along the Western Front. German soldiers placed candles on trenches and Christmas trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols. The British responded by singing carols of their own. Each side shouted Christmas greetings to the other. Then there began to be excursions across No Man’s Land, where small gifts were exchanged. The artillery in the region fell silent. Joint services were held. In many sectors the truce lasted through Christmas night, continuing until New Year’s Day in others. Walter Kirchhoff, a German officer and an operatic tenor, inspired the Christmas truce as he sang Silent Night both in German and in English.

There are many Joes all around us

Joe is Joseph Mohr, an “illegitimate” child born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1792. He was abandoned by his birth father, and named by his godfather, an executioner. He was a social outcast and financially destitute. Society rejected him, labeled him, and destined him for shame and disgrace.

There are many Joes all around us – those whom society has rejected, labeled, shamed, and disgraced. But God remembers, God redeems, God restores, so that we are all able to receive God’s life in and with us! God assures us of these things throughout Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments.

Isaiah 49:15-16a – “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.”

Galatians 3:11-14, The Message – “The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: ‘The person who believes God, is set right by God – and that’s the real life.’ Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping … Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the Cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared … We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing.”

By the grace of God, Joe overcame rejection, labeling, shame, and disgrace. Joe’s beautiful poem, Silent Night, earned him the title of “hymn writer.” Joe’s legacy extended beyond this song, as a social reformer who practiced extreme generosity. Joe donated most of his salary to charity to provide education for impoverished children and to provide care for the elderly in his hometown of Wagrain, about 36 miles from Salzburg, Austria. Joe invested much in the only primary school in town, which had been established in 1619. He advocated for education to be made accessible to all, male and female, rich and poor. Joe also initiated the construction of a new school building to replace the old one that was built in 1774. The new building was opened in 1838, and eventually the school was renamed the “Joseph Mohr Elementary School.” Education continues there today, with the school recently celebrating its 406th anniversary!

There are many Franks all around us

Frank is Franz Xaver Gruber, an Austrian primary school teacher, church organist, and composer in the village of Arnsdorf. He suffered an overwhelming and unimaginable amount of loss and grief: although he fathered twelve children, only four of them reached adulthood. His first two wives died in childbirth. There are all kinds of losses and all kinds of grief. GriefShare, a ministry that helps churches to minister to people experiencing life crises, offers wisdom, resources, and pathways for people to be able to grieve with hope. This ministry emphasizes the importance of “a community to find understanding, support, and hope to navigate the turbulent waters of loss.” While everyone’s response to loss is unique, people facing loss and grief will experience many of the same challenges:

navigating the overwhelming loneliness of grief
managing worry and anxiety in the face of crippling fears
learning healthy strategies to deal with anger
moving beyond if-only’s and regrets
forgiving those responsible for a death
responding to insensitive comforters
moving forward by remembering and honoring a lost loved one
adjusting to a new reality

There are many Franks around us – those who are stuck in grief or loss and unable to find their way forward. But God gives hope and heals hearts, so that we can get on our feet again and have more and better life than we ever dreamed of. God assures us of these promises throughout Scripture, again, in both the Old and New Testaments.

Psalm 147:1-6a – “Hallelujah! It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God; praise is beautiful, praise is fitting. God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem, who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles. He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and assigns each a name. Our Lord is great, with limitless strength; we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does. God puts the fallen on their feet again.”

John 10:9-10 – [Jesus said,] “I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for – will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

By the grace of God, Frank overcame crippling grief and loss. Frank’s beautiful music, Silent Night, is his most famous composition and accomplishment. But Frank’s faithfulness also bore good fruit in many other ways. Society expected him to follow his father’s trade, and he worked hard as a linen weaver. Honorably, he waited until he received his father’s blessing to begin pursuing a teaching career, which in those days often included the opportunity to serve as an organist in the local church. Despite suffering the loss of two wives and ten children, Frank patiently taught countless primary school students for many years. He composed numerous sacred works: hymns, carols, masses, and other church pieces. He composed regional dance music and arrangements of opera music. Although many of his works remained unpublished during his lifetime, he faithfully used and developed the gifts God had given him.

Silent Night, Holy Night

On that night when Jesus was born, God sent messengers to announce the good news to a specific group of people. We read about this in Luke 2:8-9 – “In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” The original Greek translated terrified indicates that they were exceedingly frightened, terribly alarmed, and awed to the greatest extent possible. When they encountered the glory of the Lord, their bodies went into what we now call the fight-or-flight response. Adrenaline surged through them, increasing their heart rate, breathing, and muscle tension. Sweating, trembling, and dread swept over them. They froze in fear. They were awestruck, amazed, astonished, flabbergasted, agape, dazed, struck dumb. They were speechless.

Silent Night, Holy Night.

Those who encountered the glory of God that day were awestruck. They saw the glory of God. They heard the word of the Lord. They experienced the presence of God. They were transformed by the power of God. Life would never be the same again. They received and believed the good news! And then they responded!

Luke 2:10-15 – “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’”

Silent Night, Holy Night, Christ the Savior is born!

They were awestruck. They received and believed and responded to the good news. And then they returned but not the same old, same old. They were forever changed – they had heard and seen the Lord. Their hearts, mouths, and lives gave glory to God as they celebrated God-with-us in praise! Just as they had heard the multitude of heavenly host, they directed all of their attention to the Lord’s unrivaled excellence – Glory to God in the highest heaven!

Luke 2:16-20 – “So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”