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A Truly Silent Night 

The Germans started it… 

The Great War, the War to End all Wars (now known to us as World War I), had been raging for five months in late 1914. On one side were Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and others. On the other was France, England, Russia, and later, the United States and others. Neither side had made much headway in defeating the other. A 500-mile stretch of territory that ran through Flanders (Belgium, France, and the Netherlands) was called the Western Front. 

Early in December of that year, Pope Benedict XV made a public plea to both factions in the war. He asked, “that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang.” However, commanding officers on both sides ignored the Pope’s request and were determined to fight on – Christmas or not. 

Nevertheless, on Christmas Eve, 1914, German soldiers in the trenches caught the holiday spirit. They lit candles and hung them from evergreen trees. They hoisted banners that read, “We not shoot, you not shoot.” Not knowing what to think, the British soldiers held their positions. Finally, a German soldier dared venture into “no man’s land,” the field that separated the two battle trenches. A single voice began to sing: 

Stille Nacht. Heilige Nacht. 

Alles Schlaft, einsam wacht 

(Silent Night, Holy Night 

All is calm, all is bright.) 

British soldiers answered with antiphonal greetings. Before too long, more soldiers on either side left their trenches and began presenting small gifts to each other and exchanging handshakes. One British soldier wrote: “I wouldn’t have missed that unique and weird Christmas Day for anything… I spotted a German officer, some sort of lieutenant I should think, and being a bit of a collector, I intimated to him that I had taken a fancy to some of his buttons… I brought out my wire clippers and, with a few deft snips, removed a couple of his buttons and put them in my pocket. I then gave him two of mine in exchange….” 

News spread down the lines. From Christmas Day until well into the New Year, regiments along the battle lines joined in with similar gestures of goodwill, much to the chagrin of their commanders. (One notable dissenter was a young corporal named Adolf Hitler.) 

Referring to that short unofficial ceasefire, another soldier reported, “I remember the silence, the eerie sound of silence. Only the guards were on duty. We all went outside the farm buildings and just stood listening. And, of course, thinking of people back home. All I’d heard for two months in the trenches was the hissing, cracking, and whining of bullets in flight, machinegun fire, and distant German voices. But there was a dead silence that morning, right across the land as far as you could see. We shouted ‘Merry Christmas’, even though nobody felt merry. The silence ended early in the afternoon and the killing started again. It was a short peace in a terrible war.” 

This Christmas war story brings heartwarming and inspiring sentiments. One coming from a passion for freedom; another coming from a yearning for peace. But the Prince of Peace, Jesus, had already come to wage His own war against sin and the despair that has been around since Eden. The peace He gives, however, is not the absence of conflict but the serenity of spirit that the Apostle Paul describes as “the peace that passes human understanding.” 

Today our world is full of conflict and oppression without any external sign or hope of relief. This makes knowing the Prince of Peace even more beautiful. 

Jesus spoke of freedom in John 8: 31-32:

‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’”

Regarding peace, Jesus told His disciples, 

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Scene Changers 

I found Baby Jesus in my Christmas stocking one morning… 

Not the real One, of course, but the one that had been missing for a couple of days from my tabletop Fontanini nativity scene. I’m pretty sure the one who put it there was my then 4 ½- year-old granddaughter. I had been letting the grandchildren play with the characters all they wanted since the pieces were unbreakable and too big to swallow, and the kids seemed to enjoy it. That does mean, however, that the scene looked different every time I walked by it. I found the Holy Family abiding in the field with the shepherds. Once I found the angel lying in the manger with a rooster. A few times the Wise Men have been in a far off country – like under the couch or in a basket near the fireplace. Once Baby Jesus was actually in the manger but wrapped in a string of tiny stick-on valentines. 

It was an adventure. 

But certainly no more of one than the real Mary and Joseph happen upon right before their wedding. She’s pregnant but not by her betrothed. An angel visits them both telling them not to worry – that this is all God’s doing. And the Caesar forces them to travel 80+ miles to pay a tax right around her due date. And Mary goes into labor while she and Joseph are in temporary housing, which happens to be a stable. And then…well, you know the rest, but here’s the point: 

God has a plan for each of us, and it’s probably different from what we would have chosen for ourselves. He can move the pieces of the scene around however He wants. It’s His call, His work, His way. We can choose to accept it and follow it…or not. And it’s like with the nativity scene characters; we may have to search for each part of God’s plan for us one piece at a time until it all fits, until it makes sense. 

One of my favorite Christmas carols is, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” 

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born king,
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born king!” 

The fourth line of the lyric…God and sinners reconciled…speaks of this event, the birth of Christ, but more about His purpose for coming to earth—to change everything. 

Galatians 4: 4-5 (NASB) says, “… when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.”

Not a Creature Was Stirring 

“A mere trifle.” 

That’s how Clement Clarke Moore referred to the little poem he wrote for his children on Christmas Eve, 1822. Initially titled, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”, it has become known as, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”, or sometimes, “The Night Before Christmas”. 

Clement Clarke Moore was a brilliant scholar who, after earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from what is now Columbia University, he taught Oriental and Greek Literature, Divinity, and Biblical Learning at Episcopal General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, NY. 

Because of his academic stature at the seminary, he was resistant to let the poem be published at all. But at the insistence of his children, he allowed them and a friend to submit it the following year to The Sentinel, a York, New York-based newspaper thinking that no one would see it. He was adamant that it be published anonymously. The poem appeared in print on December 23, 1823. 

Mr. Moore’s poem went “viral” in the mid-1800’s and with it he created several of our Santa-based traditions. For instance, the Old Man’s apparel and appearance come from Moore’s ride to the market earlier on Christmas Eve to buy the Christmas turkey. Supposedly the driver of the sleigh was jolly, red-cheeked, with a white beard and furry overcoat. Hence we have Santa’s appearance: 

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The legendary addition of elves and the existence of a Santa’s workshop may have come from this line in the poem: 

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

The entryway for Saint Nicholas (aka: Santa Claus) into people’s living rooms was addressed as well. How does the Old Man get into our homes? 

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He exits the same way. 

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

Alas, Clement Clarke Moore never wanted the kind of notoriety that he has received from this whimsical verse. He wanted only to be known for his teaching and his other writings like the ever-popular books he wrote: 

Hebrew and English Lexicon

Observations Upon Certain Passages in Mr. Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia: Which Appear to Have a Tendency to Subvert Religion and Establish a False Philosophy

George Castriot, Surnamed Scanderbeg, King of Albania.

Ignorable. 

There was someone who many thought was a “mere trifle.” But He was King of kings, Lord of lords. Because He was born to a peasant girl in a stable, He was ignored and sometimes threatened in His lifetime. This season, read about Him and recognize Him for who He was: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Home For The Holidays 

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10) 

If you are traveling by airplane for the holidays, this story might have more significance than others. 

Man has been fascinated with flight since the beginning of time. As far back as the ancient Chinese in the 4th century B.C., humans have tried to harness the wind and fly above the ground like birds. A kite was man’s first attempt at flight, though somewhat unsatisfying because he could only observe from the ground. 

Leonardo Di Vinci, in the mid-15th century A.D., drew over 100 designs for a flying machine, but Di Vinci was often ahead of his time in so many ways. 

Then, in the late 19th century, the manned glider was invented, but man’s flight was controlled by the wind itself. Many glider flights ended in tragedy because the pilot had little or no control of his direction. 

It was not until just before Christmas, December 17, 1903 that Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio perfected the design for a true flying machine. 

By trade, the brothers were bicycle and printing press builders. Both of these were not only noble professions but lucrative as well. They could have been very satisfied with their careers. But they dreamed bigger. Using the research of many others before them, the sons of Milton and Susan Wright, camped out on the eastern seaboard at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for three summers. There they worked on a “fixed-wing” flight design. 

After two summers, however, the brothers had become discouraged. They were sure that man would someday fly, but that he would never fly during their lifetime. Fortunately, the men did not give up. In the summer of 1903 after building a gasoline-powered engine that turned propellers, Orville and Wilbur decided to stay past their usual season as the fall temperatures started to plummet. They decided to keep trying despite the weather and the coming holidays. On that December morning, Orville piloted the lightweight spruce-constructed muslin-surfaced Wright Flyer I off the ground for 59 seconds with Wilbur running along beside. The flying machine’s altitude reached 10 feet. 

After Wilbur and Orville made their momentous flight, they naturally wanted to share the news with their family back home in Dayton, Ohio. They sent a telegram to their sister, Katherine, telling her of the flight and that they would be home to celebrate Christmas. When Katherine excitedly ran to the newspaper office with the news, she was surprised when the editor looked at the message and exclaimed, “Oh great, the boys will be home for Christmas.” In the next morning’s paper, the headline read, “Popular Local Bicycle Merchants Home for the Holidays.” 

The point of this story is that the editor supposedly missed the impact of the message. Excited that his friends would be home for the holidays, he ignored the biggest news of the century. Man had flown! 

In the excitement and preparations for Christmas, it’s easy to miss the point of the season. God had come to earth. No matter what else you might hold dear at Christmas, don’t miss the reason why Jesus came: to give us eternal access to our Heavenly Father.

The Bible’s message of God’s love and forgiveness is eternal and enduring, but the life experiences of the people who first received the Word are much different than our lives today. No one needs to explain to us what smartphones and social media are, but a first-century Christian would have no knowledge or frame of reference for them. In the same way, what was obvious to those first hearers has no context in our lives or culture. There is much that the biblical writers did not need to explain to their contemporary audience because it was simply understood.

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