Silent Night was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in Austria. The organ had broken and a young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, in a panic to keep the Christmas Eve service going took a poem he had written “Stille Nacht” brought the words to Franz Xaver Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve mass.
According to Gruber, Karl Mauracher, an organ builder who serviced the instrument at the Obendorf church, was enamoured with the song, and took the composition home with him. He became the “Johnny Appleseed” of Silent Night, teaching it in the many churches where he serviced organs.
I heard this story this morning in a podcast and I thought that’s just what we’re called to be – the “Johnny Appleseed” of the love of God. Spread it around, y’all…spread it around!
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