Love's pure light

We sang Silent Night, Holy Night in church this morning, and I was once again reminded of a personal revelation from several years back.

For the majority of my life I'd merrily sang the first verse from memory. After Latin classes in high school, I'd long to sing it once again in Latin and occasionally, a more daring choir director would allow it. After college, there were the German words, the ones which happen to be printed in our Methodist hymnal, but in the 20 years I've been in choir I think we've gotten away with it only once.

So I heave a mental sigh in what I am sure is sympathy from the congregation who also want to sing it in another language, then I glance at the beginning of the second verse and sing on. (In looking through hymnals for this, I found that the Broadman Hymnal, standard of the Baptists for years, has an entirely different set of verses after the first.)

But it was in the third verse that revelation came. "Silent Night, Holy Night, Son of God, Love's pure light." In my mind's eye, it had always been "Son of God loves pure light." Well, of course He would, but it didn't necessarily make sense. Then, at some point, I actually read what I was singing. I noted the comma and the apostrophe. I had an entirely new interpretation, one that made sense!

I wish I knew it in German.