My "Silent Night" Place

Yesterday evening, I had the privilege of hearing a presentation on the hymnody of the Church. The presenter spoke of hymns giving us a place. In his presentation he described something he likes to often do with groups to illustrate his point. He said that he will tell the group members to put their heads down and close their eyes. While they are in this posture, he then has them sing Silent Night, Holy Night. When they are done, he has them lift their heads and then asks them where they were. He said that without fail - not one of them was in the room!

The point that the speaker was making is that the hymnody and the liturgy of the Church gives to the people of God a place. He further illustrated this point by telling a story of his father who had lost his place to severe illness and yet near the end of his life was still able to sing the hymnody and liturgy of the Church. He described how those words woven together with music provided his dying father a place - a place of comfort with His God, even when all of the other places in the world were long since departed.

I have been traveling since last evening and thus have spent a significant amount of time in the car. My thoughts have turned to my Silent Night Place a few times. For me, it seems that place is in front of the Altar (a particular altar - but I'd prefer not to say which one) on the Feast of the Nativity - Christmas Eve, at the candlelight Eucharist around midnight with a large candle in my hand lifted heavenward. In the background the congregation is singing the words of the hymn. My thoughts seem to always be of my paternal grandmother (I don't know why), there is always a tear running out of my right eye (as there is as I type this post), and the words I am signing sound a lot more like - Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht than Silent Night, Holy Night.

As I drove today, I happened to be near where my paternal grandmother is buried. I stopped for a few moments and visited her grave, along with that of a few other relatives. While I stood there in that sun drenched cemetery with the breeze gently blowing - I found myself in my Silent Night Place. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, it provided me with the solace I needed as I carefully cleaned off the stones of my relatives and pulled back some old grass and dirt. Being in my Silent Night Place was truly a comfort.

As I drove a little further down the road I began to contemplate some of my other Silent Night places. I can visualize a my This is the Feast Place, my Jesus Christ is Risen Today Place, my O Day Full of Grace Place, my Lord Thee I Love Place, my ... places. Each one of them invokes different emotions and different images. Each one of them brings with it the comfort and solace of the text of the hymn or liturgy that provides the place.

As I visited these different places today, one thought continued to enter into my mind - Thanks be to God for the Liturgy and Hymnody of the Church. If I should ever loose my worldly places, as the presenters father did, I am grateful for the comfort that my hymns and liturgy will give me place.

I just don't think that is something that so much of the hollow and empty material used in the Church today can provide. I tried to think of my Our God is an Awesome God Place and it just didn't work. All I could think of was the annoying television add for "worship" CDs. I tried this with a couple of other Contemporary Christian Music pieces and found either no corresponding place or no comfort.

After this, I returned to a few more wonderful places. My O Sacred Head Now Wounded Place, my O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth Place, my Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying Place, and another trip back to my Stille Nacht Platz.

So where is your Silent Night Place? I know that you have been there while reading this post. I bet you went to that place even before you finished reading. It's ok - that is what I wanted to you do. If you didn't - go now - I'll wait. I believe this is one of the most powerful tools I have heard of for illustrating the value of the Church's hymnody and liturgy.