It was Christmas Eve in Oberndorf, Austria, in 1818. Joseph Mohr, the vicar of the church, had written a new song for the Christmas Eve service and the organist Franz Gruber had set it to music. But the organ in the village church broke down. So, Gruber grabbed a guitar and accompanied Mohr in the first-ever rendition of ‘Silent Night’.
The story doesn’t end there, however. When a man came to fix the organ, Gruber tested it by playing the new song. The repairman liked the song so much that he took a copy of it back to his own village. There, four daughters of a village glove maker learned the song and began singing it in concerts all over the region. Because of that faulty organ, this Christmas song blessed people all over Austria and eventually the whole world.
Maybe at this Christmas season we feel the same. Everything seems to be faulty around us. It can be a difficult time for those who carry the burden of hard work, stressful family situations, personal loss, Cost of living crisis, Refugee crisis, War and Racism. These are some of the faulty things happening around us. And I can easily cover the rest of the newsletter with the faulty things in this world. But let’s not forget the first Christmas was faulty because of the many scandals in the narrative.
Mary conceived Jesus through supernatural means and in the Jewish context, that was alarming! Knowing Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph initially planned to divorce her and that could have created disgrace both for Joseph and Mary. And even more shocking is that God would take on the form of a man and was born in a stable! Despite these scandalous details, this is how God chose to reveal Himself to us.
“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” -John 1:4-5
The birth of Jesus Christ gives hope to everyone. Regardless of the scandals and darkness you experience, remember Christmas Day and how God gave light to the darkest parts of your life. We may not give the world something as remarkable as ‘Silent night’, but because God is in charge, we can be sure that ‘all is calm, all is bright’.
Emmanuel, God with us, Emmanuel, King Jesus, The Saviour of the world is born.
Have a Blessed Christmas.
With Love and Prayers,
Christvin
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