It’s not Christmas until Wilbert Throener sings “Stille Nacht.”
As the familiar tune hums through the old pipe organ, Wilbert approaches the microphone and stoically intones the first verse in German before the entire congregation joins in English. At almost 90-years old, Wilbert is the last remaining choir member who grew up speaking German.
St. Boniface Catholic Church in Monterey, Nebraska, sits one mile up the dusty gravel road from our family farm. Established by German immigrants in 1881, its earliest parishioners included my great-great grandparents, and it has served our family for generations.
Among endless miles of corn fields, this rural community sowed the seeds of faith in my life. I learned from a young age that singing carols and baking cookies qualify as a corporal work of mercy, as does helping a stranger fix a flat tire on the side of the road.
My imagination for mission has subsequently taken me on adventures around the globe. One summer in Nicaragua, our volunteer group made friends with the local children’s choir. We bridged the language barrier by taking turns on the guitar, and together we sang every verse of “Silent Night/Noche de Paz” even though it was the middle of July.
“Stille Nacht” has been translated into over 300 languages. Depending on your translation, the opening line speaks of a silent night, a holy night, a night filled with peace, love and light. The young priest, Joseph Mohr, wrote this poem in 1816 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. He was inspired while taking a walk on a cold still evening after what must have been a turbulent time.
We live in a noisy world. Beyond the typical holiday bustle, with its crowds and concerts, there is so much clamoring for our attention! The constant barrage of news, excessive rhetoric that instills fear and drives suspicion, and the ongoing conflicts in our world. In this ever-deafening society, how do we make room for sacred silence?
“Stille Nacht” takes me back to my roots and sends my heart soaring as high as a church steeple towering over the Nebraska plains. Amid the clatter, God’s eternal presence dwells among us. Jesus, loves pure light, enters into the world to calm our fears, to hush our anxieties and to redeem a fallen and broken world. The birth of a child cuts through the noise and gives us a song we can sing together.
*To see photos and hear Wilbert singing “Stille Nacht,” follow this link.
