How flooding waters, damaging the church organ, gave birth to one of the most famous Christmas Carols.

 How flooding waters, damaging the church organ, gave birth to one of the most famous Christmas Carols.

Psalm 96:1  Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! 

One of today's famous Christmas Carols, Silent Night, was one day some 203 years ago also a new song, and is now sung all over the earth.  

It is the year 1818, in Obendorff, Austria. An itinerant group of actors was performing in towns throughout the Austrian Alps. On December 23 they arrived at Obendorff, a village near Salzburg, where they were to act out the story of Christ's birth in the small Church of St. Nicholas. Unfortunately the church organ was damaged by flood waters.  (In the 1890's the whole church was destroyed by a flood as well, and rebuilt some distance away.) After watching this play, the pastor, Josef Mohr, walked to a hilltop overlooking the small town, and pondered on the Christmas play. This made him remember a poem he wrote some years before that. He thought it can be used as a song. However, the church organ is not working and will not be repaired anytime soon, so they need to find some other instrument that they can use, despite the strong tradition that only the organ should be used. And he needed to find someone that can compose the melody to the words of his poem. So he quickly found the paper where he wrote this poem, and visited Franz Xaver Gruber, who was the schoolmaster and the church's organist, who lived in the nearby village of Arnsdorf.  Gruber then composed a guitar melody that same day, and the song was first sung in this little church in Obendorff on Christmas Eve of 1818. 

Some weeks later the organ builder, Karl Mauracher, arrived to repair the organ. When he was finished, he let Gruber test the organ. Gruber then played the Silent Night melody he composed. 

Mauracher was deeply touched by this, took the music to his own hometown and shared it there. From here it spread throughout Europe like a fire. Twenty years later this fire jumped the Atlantic Ocean and was sung (in German) in a church in New York City. In 1863 it was translated from German to English. Since then it was translated to more than 300 languages and is sung around the world every Christmas.

Psalm 149:1  Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! 

Riana Odendaal

Silent night, holy night!

All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born  

Silent night, holy night!
Son of God love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth  

Ascension Day

Ascension Day 


The risen Lord Jesus Ascended

The clouds carried Him to the heavenly abode

The disciples hold onto the promises

The Holy Spirit to come

Jesus continually for us interceding

For us a place preparing

One day will return to take us home

What a great hope we have

Riana Odendaal

21 May 2020

Areopagus message to Athens, to all

Areopagus message to Athens, to all


Paul in Athens

His spirit provoked

at the idol-filled city

What does this babbler wish to say

the real babblers begged

To Areopagus he was dragged

From his heart the truth was spilled

the day to repent draweth near

God in heaven you must fear

God, the maker of heaven and earth

Not living in any man-made temple

Not served by human hands

not needing anything

But the giver to humankind

the breath in their lungs

The time and area to reside

and put in their hearts

the will to seek God

and be found by Him

that His praise they should sing

We are His offspring

But still human and not divine

Ignorant times were overlooked

But now the command is loud and clear

to all far and near

Repent

Judgement is coming by Messiah

Assurance of this we have

His Resurrection from the dead

Some listeners to his message believed

Do you? 

(Acts 17:16-34)

There is a God

There is a God

There is a God
Holy. Eternal. Perfect. Sinless.
No sinner can be in His presence.
He gave the solution
For these mere mortals
by sin polluted.

A sacrifice
A Lamb, Perfect and Unblemished
For forgiveness
Blood must be shed
No-one can ever pay this price

But God....

Had grace
He send his Lamb
to pay our price
only His Lamb could suffice
to pay the high price
He still gives grace
to prodigal sons and daughters today
Come to Him, I pray
All you do, is fall on your knee
and for His grace plea
and from your sins you will be free
but now from sin you must flee
and for this He gives the power and grace too.

Yom Hashoah (21 April 2020)

Yom Hashoah  (Holocaust Remembrance Day - 21 April 2020)

Approximately 75 years ago
a hell on earth ended
6 million Jews have died
and numerous others too
6 million people that could have made a difference
in the world today
Here and there we find a story
a diary, a poem, written by those
but what about the rest?
The Lord was gracious to spare a remnant
of these Jewish people
His chosen nation
3 years later they have their own country
They built it up
the build and invent things
- used the world over
The Lord truely has blessed these people
Despite hardships they have gone through

Sadly though, many of them don't believe
their Messiah has come
Some of them do, but most don't.
May we continue to pray for them
to believe that Messiah has come!

Peter

Peter

Luke 22: 31-32 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."


Peter - tonight, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me(Jesus) three times.
No, Lord, never!
Rooster crowed twice
Peter cries

God knew what would happen - and told Him. But most of all - already prayed for him.

Three days later, the angels announcing to the three women, that the Lord is risen! Go tell His disciples, - and to Peter.

John 21 - The Lord appearing to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. Made them a breakfast of fish and bread, blessing them too with a great catch of fish.

J: "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" 
P: "Yes Lord you know I love you"
J" "Feed my lambs"

Nature isn't locked in

Nature isn't locked in


We get locked in
Outside the birds sing
Pretty butterflies galore
Dance through the skies all over
We sit inside,
and plan when to go to the store

Going online
Telling everybody : "I'm fine"
Watching (videos of) penguins strolling through Simonstown
while sipping tea in our night-gowns

Dreaming of being outside, in the bush
we watch the webcams
Go through our photos of days gone by
and on our social medias, these we post

In our gardens we sit
taking photos of bulbuls, sunbirds and barbets
a butterfly or two on a marigold
and the spiderweb full of dewdrops

We bake
bread, and yet another cake
and dream of going to a lake
for a picnic
But the news, and the roadblock down the road
Remind us to rather stay at home



#LockdownChronicles  #Lockdown2020

April 2020