December 7, 2025 • 30 mins
Peace in Unexpected Places, with Rev. Dr. Steven Koski. Series: Journeys Through Advent A Spacious Christianity, First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Oregon. Scripture: Luke 2:14, Isaiah 9:6, John 1:5.
Curious about the story behind “Silent Night” in the trenches? Join us this Sunday (online or in person) for a message on peace, hope, and unexpected connections. Everyone’s welcome!
Join us each Sunday, 10AM at bendfp.org, or 11AM KTVZ-CW Channel 612/12 in Bend. Subscribe/Follow, and click the bell for alerts.
At First Presbyterian, you will meet people at many different places theologically and spiritually. And we love it that way. We want to be a place where our diversity brings us together and where conversation takes us all deeper in our understanding of God.
We call this kind of faith “Spacious Christianity.” We don’t ask anyone to sign creeds or statements of belief. The life of faith is about a way of being in the world and a faith that shows itself in love.
Thank you for your support of the mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Bend. Visit https://bendfp.org/giving/ for more information.
Keywords:
Christmas Eve, Christ candle, God’s love, peace candle, irrational season, Prince of Peace, Christmas truce, World War I, trenches, Christmas trees, truce night, peace and goodwill, Silent Night, peace within, light a candle, presbyterian, church, online worship, bend, oregon
Featuring:
Rev. Dr. Steven Koski, Rev. Sharon Edwards, Becca Ellis, Brave of Heart, Guests
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:20):
Music.
Whitney Higdon (00:37):
Welcome to worship at First Presbyterian we
at first, Presbyterian practicea spacious Christianity, which
means, no matter where you arein your faith journey, you
belong, and there is space foryou at the table, there is space
for your doubts and questions.
We believe doubts and questionsare a gift that invite us into
deeper conversations and a moreauthentic faith. We believe
diversity is a strength. Everystory is sacred, and everybody
(01:01):
matters. We do our best to livethe spacious and radical love of
Jesus so that all might have achance to flourish in this
world. We are so glad to connectwith you in this way. We would
also love to worship with you inperson if you're ever in the
neighborhood on Sunday morningsat 830 or 10am and never
hesitate to reach out to us tolearn more about us or how we
(01:22):
might support You. I hope youenjoy this worship service.
Welcome you.
Becca Ellis (03:39):
This is the season of Advent. As we make room and
prepare our hearts to receive,once again, the gift of God's
love and the birth of Jesus, itis our tradition to light a
candle for each Sunday inAdvent. On the second Sunday in
Advent, we light the candle ofpeace, reminding us that the one
(04:00):
we call Prince of Peace calls usto be peacemakers in this world,
may we find ways to practicepeace and bring Peace to a
divided world.
Steven (06:56):
Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers. Here's the
prayer the peace prayer of StFrancis, Lord, make us
instruments of your peace wherethere is hatred, that is so
love, where there is injury,pardon, where there is doubt,
(07:18):
faith, where there is despair,hope where there is darkness,
light where there is sadness,joy, Lord, make us instruments
of your peace. And here is theprayer of St Francis in reverse.
(07:42):
Lord, make us channels ofdisturbance where there is
apathy. Let us provoke wherethere is blind compliance. Let
us bring questioning where thereis silence. May we be your voice
for justice and peace wherethere's too much comfort and too
(08:04):
little action, Grant disruptionwhere there are doors closed and
hearts locked, grant us thedogged determination to listen
and care where there Ishostility disturb our fear and
judgment of the other. That wemight seek to build bridges of
(08:27):
understanding when pain isoverlooked and tradition speaks
louder than suffering, grantthat we may seek to do justice
rather than just talk about itdisturb us, Lord, to be with as
well as for the alienated, tolove the unlovable as well as
(08:52):
the lovely. In a world thatlives like a clenched fist, may
we disturb the status quo,showing the world that love is
stronger than hate. Lord, makeus channels of disturbance and
(09:13):
instruments of your peace. Amen,one of my favorite moments of
the entire year is ChristmasEve, when we light the Christ
candle, celebrating the light ofGod's love that has entered the
darkness of the world in thebirth of Jesus, a light we are
(09:33):
promised that the darkness cannever extinguish. We pass the
light of a candle, one toanother, singing, Silent night,
holy night. All is calm, all isbright. In that moment, the
world is still, and it's as ifwe can hear the voice of the
(09:56):
angels as recorded in the Gospelof Luke saying peace. Peace,
peace on earth and goodwill toall in that moment, even just
for a moment, we dare to trustthat, contrary to all of the
evidence the world offers,otherwise, that peace and
(10:17):
goodwill are possible. Peaceful.
Good Will that seems like animpossible and even irrational
dream. Madeleine liengo wrote,This is the irrational season
when Love Blooms bright andwild. Had Mary been filled with
reason, there'd have been noroom for the child. We lit the
(10:42):
second candle of Advent, thecandle of peace. This is the
irrational season. Can we makeroom in our hearts for the child
we call the Prince of Peace.
(11:02):
It's my tradition during Adventtwo to share a story about
another time that Silent Nightwas sung a battleground full of
death and despair became a holyground, in a way that no one
would have imagined possible fora brief moment, there was peace
(11:28):
on earth and goodwill to allthis year seems like a
particularly important Time toremember this story. It was
December 24 1914, two greatarmies, hundreds of 1000s of
British, French and Germansoldiers faced each other along
(11:52):
a front that extended along theborder between France and
Belgium. It was a terrible war,as if there was any other kind.
Troops were dug in deep trenchescut into soggy, muddy soil lit
up by candles and flashlights.
It was a constant struggle tokeep the mud walls from
collapsing and the trenches fromflooding. Just 50 yards away was
(12:15):
the enemy trench. Each side'strench was protected by rolls of
barbed wire. In between wascalled no man's land. Each side
posted snipers to shoot anythingthat moved in the opposite
trench. Hand grenades werethrown, artillery shells were
(12:37):
lobbed, occasional charges upout of the trenches were
launched, almost alwaysresulting in death. The trenches
were close enough that men inone trench could hear their
enemies voices as the firstChristmas of that war
(12:58):
approached. Troops on both sidesreceived packages from home to
boost morale. British troopsreceived a Princess Mary packet
containing cigarettes, pipetobacco and a greeting card from
the King. Each soldier alsoreceived a plum pudding at
Cadbury chocolates the Germansoldiers received packages that
(13:22):
contain tobacco and a pipe.
Separately from this, Germantroops also received gifts of
sausage and beer and one thingmore, the German government sent
a lot of Christmas trees to thetroops in the trenches. As the
(13:46):
sun moved across the sky ondecember 24 1914, something
strange, unbelievable,unimaginable began to happen.
The shooting slowed down andthen came to a halt. No one
(14:08):
issued an order. Soldiers onboth sides simply stopped
shooting. As the late afternoon,dusk turned to darkness, British
troops, peering through thegloom, saw the most amazing
thing, Christmas trees withlighted candles lying the edges
(14:32):
of the trench, all up and downthe line. German troops
displayed the Christmas treestheir government had sent to the
front display them so that theirBritish enemies could see them,
the stillness of the night, thesilence of the artillery, the
(14:57):
peculiar light the. Of Christmastree lights up and down the
trenches where all the angelswere singing that night, a
German voice called out into thesilent darkness, a gift is
coming now. The British dove forcover expecting a grenade, what
(15:19):
came across was a boot filledwith sausages and chocolate. The
British scurry to find one ofthe Princess Mary packets, a
plum pudding and a Christmascard from the King to send in
reply. And then the singingstarted, patriotic songs,
military songs, drinking songsat first one side, followed by
(15:43):
applause from the oppositetrench, and then the other side.
And then it was eerily quiet,the light at Christmas trees,
the darkness one soldier wroteand a letter home, my dear
(16:04):
sister, Janet, you won't believethis. If I hadn't seen it
myself, I would scarcely believeit was possible. Just imagine,
while you and the family sangChristmas carols in front of the
fireplace there in London, I didthe same with enemy soldiers
(16:27):
here on the battlefields ofFrance. I could never have
imagined such a god forsakenplace with such despair and
death, seemingly devoid of allhope could all of a sudden
become so holy, yet it was as ifthe holiness swept over us
(16:53):
awaken something within us, andfor a few moments,
we didn't see each other asenemies, into a darkness pierced
only by the lit Christmas trees,came a familiar sound From the
(17:15):
German side of the trenches,still a knocked, high like a
knocked a German soldier begansinging, Silent night, holy
night. All up and down theWestern Front. It spread for
miles and miles. Still aknocked, high, like a knocked
(17:41):
all is calm, all is bright. TheBritish troops were spellbound.
Many joined the singing, and asthey sang silent night together,
the two languages merged intoone, a language of peace, a
language of hope, a languagethat came from that more
(18:04):
beautiful world each heart knowsis possible but is sometimes
hard to imagine. They continueto sing into the night and as
the sun rose on Christmas Day,voices from both sides shouted,
you no shoot. We no shoot. Andbrave soldiers emerged from both
(18:31):
sides unarmed, walked slowly,ever so cautiously, up out of
the trenches into no man's land,and they met in the middle,
shook hands awkwardly, andexchanged Christmas greetings,
up and down the line, spreadingnorth and south south as
(18:54):
Spontaneous Christmas truce,gifts of cigarettes, Candy
sausages, Plum puddings,chocolates were exchanged, and
then uniform insignia, brassbuttons, belt buckles, more
singing and drinking and atseveral places along the western
(19:17):
front, soccer games were played.
The spirit of peace and goodwill prevailed over fear and the
demonic spirit of war. Thistruce continued Christmas night
into the second day and then,after a week or so, those in
(19:43):
power ordered the soldiers backinto the trenches, and the
shooting resumed once againacross no man's land in. 6000
deaths per day for the next 46months. But even for a short
(20:05):
while, the improbable becamepossible, the unimaginable
became a reality on a silentnight and holy night in the
trenches, the birth of theChrist Child, the Prince of
(20:30):
Peace, interrupted the violenceand drew hostile forces together
as brothers and for a fewmoments, gave weary soldiers a
taste of peace at Goodwill,again, as one soldier described
(20:56):
it, I could never have imaginedsuch a god forsaken place with
such despair and death,seemingly devoid of all hope,
could all of a sudden become soholy. Yet it was as if the
holiness swept over us awakenedsomething within us, and for a
(21:17):
few moments in time, we didn'tsee each other as enemies. This
is all in a book called SilentNight, the story of the World
War One Christmas truce, byStanley Weintraub. I know it's
not Christmas Eve, but in amoment, Silent Night will be
(21:42):
sung. May we remember somethingawakening in those soldiers,
interrupting the violence,causing them to come out of
their trenches, sharing animprobable peace, and even for
just a few moments as this songis sung, may something be
(22:07):
awakened in us. May we come outof the trenches of our despair
and cynicism, assuming things inthis world and in our own lives
will never change. May weexperience a peace within our
souls, a peace we didn't thinkpossible. May we be the ones who
(22:33):
see the darkness, know it'sreal, and choose to light a
candle anyway, and dare to holdthat fragile candle up against
the wind and pass along thelight wherever it's needed.
Remember, this is the irrationalseason Where Love Blooms bright
(23:00):
and wild. Had Mary been filledwith reason? There had been no
room for the child? Let's makeroom. Let's make room For the
Prince of peace.
(27:41):
Madeline, le'engle said, this isthe irrational season Where Love
Blooms bright and wild. Had Marybeen filled with reason? There
had been no room for the child?
May we come out of the trenchesof our despair and cynicism
assuming things in the world andin our lives will never change.
May we experience a peace withinour souls we didn't think
(28:07):
possible. May we shine a lightinto the darkest corners? May we
listen for the voice of theangel saying, Peace on earth,
good will to all, and dare tolive as if that promise is
possible. Go in the peace andthe love of Christ, and May the
(28:32):
love that you bring into thisworld bring peace to others.
Whitney Higdon (28:42):
Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope
you enjoyed this worshipservice. If you would like to
make a donation helping makethese podcasts possible or
support them many ways. First,Presbyterian seeks to serve our
community. You can make afinancial gift online at bend
fp.org, every week, we hear fromsomeone thanking us for the gift
(29:02):
of these broadcasts, and what adifference they make. Your
support makes that possible. Ourchurch is committed to reach
beyond our walls, bringing hopewhere there is despair and love
where it is needed the most.
Your generous support helps usto be generous in love. Go to
our website, bend fp.org, andclick on the link give online
Your support is reallyappreciated and makes a
(29:25):
difference in people's lives.
Thanks again. I hope to see younext week. You
Music.
Whitney Higdon (00:37):
Welcome to worship at First Presbyterian we
at first, Presbyterian practicea spacious Christianity, which
means, no matter where you arein your faith journey, you
belong, and there is space foryou at the table, there is space
for your doubts and questions.
We believe doubts and questionsare a gift that invite us into
deeper conversations and a moreauthentic faith. We believe
diversity is a strength. Everystory is sacred, and everybody
(01:01):
matters. We do our best to livethe spacious and radical love of
Jesus so that all might have achance to flourish in this
world. We are so glad to connectwith you in this way. We would
also love to worship with you inperson if you're ever in the
neighborhood on Sunday morningsat 830 or 10am and never
hesitate to reach out to us tolearn more about us or how we
(01:22):
might support You. I hope youenjoy this worship service.
Welcome you.
Becca Ellis (03:39):
This is the season of Advent. As we make room and
prepare our hearts to receive,once again, the gift of God's
love and the birth of Jesus, itis our tradition to light a
candle for each Sunday inAdvent. On the second Sunday in
Advent, we light the candle ofpeace, reminding us that the one
(04:00):
we call Prince of Peace calls usto be peacemakers in this world,
may we find ways to practicepeace and bring Peace to a
divided world.
Steven (06:56):
Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers. Here's the
prayer the peace prayer of StFrancis, Lord, make us
instruments of your peace wherethere is hatred, that is so
love, where there is injury,pardon, where there is doubt,
(07:18):
faith, where there is despair,hope where there is darkness,
light where there is sadness,joy, Lord, make us instruments
of your peace. And here is theprayer of St Francis in reverse.
(07:42):
Lord, make us channels ofdisturbance where there is
apathy. Let us provoke wherethere is blind compliance. Let
us bring questioning where thereis silence. May we be your voice
for justice and peace wherethere's too much comfort and too
(08:04):
little action, Grant disruptionwhere there are doors closed and
hearts locked, grant us thedogged determination to listen
and care where there Ishostility disturb our fear and
judgment of the other. That wemight seek to build bridges of
(08:27):
understanding when pain isoverlooked and tradition speaks
louder than suffering, grantthat we may seek to do justice
rather than just talk about itdisturb us, Lord, to be with as
well as for the alienated, tolove the unlovable as well as
(08:52):
the lovely. In a world thatlives like a clenched fist, may
we disturb the status quo,showing the world that love is
stronger than hate. Lord, makeus channels of disturbance and
(09:13):
instruments of your peace. Amen,one of my favorite moments of
the entire year is ChristmasEve, when we light the Christ
candle, celebrating the light ofGod's love that has entered the
darkness of the world in thebirth of Jesus, a light we are
(09:33):
promised that the darkness cannever extinguish. We pass the
light of a candle, one toanother, singing, Silent night,
holy night. All is calm, all isbright. In that moment, the
world is still, and it's as ifwe can hear the voice of the
(09:56):
angels as recorded in the Gospelof Luke saying peace. Peace,
peace on earth and goodwill toall in that moment, even just
for a moment, we dare to trustthat, contrary to all of the
evidence the world offers,otherwise, that peace and
(10:17):
goodwill are possible. Peaceful.
Good Will that seems like animpossible and even irrational
dream. Madeleine liengo wrote,This is the irrational season
when Love Blooms bright andwild. Had Mary been filled with
reason, there'd have been noroom for the child. We lit the
(10:42):
second candle of Advent, thecandle of peace. This is the
irrational season. Can we makeroom in our hearts for the child
we call the Prince of Peace.
(11:02):
It's my tradition during Adventtwo to share a story about
another time that Silent Nightwas sung a battleground full of
death and despair became a holyground, in a way that no one
would have imagined possible fora brief moment, there was peace
(11:28):
on earth and goodwill to allthis year seems like a
particularly important Time toremember this story. It was
December 24 1914, two greatarmies, hundreds of 1000s of
British, French and Germansoldiers faced each other along
(11:52):
a front that extended along theborder between France and
Belgium. It was a terrible war,as if there was any other kind.
Troops were dug in deep trenchescut into soggy, muddy soil lit
up by candles and flashlights.
It was a constant struggle tokeep the mud walls from
collapsing and the trenches fromflooding. Just 50 yards away was
(12:15):
the enemy trench. Each side'strench was protected by rolls of
barbed wire. In between wascalled no man's land. Each side
posted snipers to shoot anythingthat moved in the opposite
trench. Hand grenades werethrown, artillery shells were
(12:37):
lobbed, occasional charges upout of the trenches were
launched, almost alwaysresulting in death. The trenches
were close enough that men inone trench could hear their
enemies voices as the firstChristmas of that war
(12:58):
approached. Troops on both sidesreceived packages from home to
boost morale. British troopsreceived a Princess Mary packet
containing cigarettes, pipetobacco and a greeting card from
the King. Each soldier alsoreceived a plum pudding at
Cadbury chocolates the Germansoldiers received packages that
(13:22):
contain tobacco and a pipe.
Separately from this, Germantroops also received gifts of
sausage and beer and one thingmore, the German government sent
a lot of Christmas trees to thetroops in the trenches. As the
(13:46):
sun moved across the sky ondecember 24 1914, something
strange, unbelievable,unimaginable began to happen.
The shooting slowed down andthen came to a halt. No one
(14:08):
issued an order. Soldiers onboth sides simply stopped
shooting. As the late afternoon,dusk turned to darkness, British
troops, peering through thegloom, saw the most amazing
thing, Christmas trees withlighted candles lying the edges
(14:32):
of the trench, all up and downthe line. German troops
displayed the Christmas treestheir government had sent to the
front display them so that theirBritish enemies could see them,
the stillness of the night, thesilence of the artillery, the
(14:57):
peculiar light the. Of Christmastree lights up and down the
trenches where all the angelswere singing that night, a
German voice called out into thesilent darkness, a gift is
coming now. The British dove forcover expecting a grenade, what
(15:19):
came across was a boot filledwith sausages and chocolate. The
British scurry to find one ofthe Princess Mary packets, a
plum pudding and a Christmascard from the King to send in
reply. And then the singingstarted, patriotic songs,
military songs, drinking songsat first one side, followed by
(15:43):
applause from the oppositetrench, and then the other side.
And then it was eerily quiet,the light at Christmas trees,
the darkness one soldier wroteand a letter home, my dear
(16:04):
sister, Janet, you won't believethis. If I hadn't seen it
myself, I would scarcely believeit was possible. Just imagine,
while you and the family sangChristmas carols in front of the
fireplace there in London, I didthe same with enemy soldiers
(16:27):
here on the battlefields ofFrance. I could never have
imagined such a god forsakenplace with such despair and
death, seemingly devoid of allhope could all of a sudden
become so holy, yet it was as ifthe holiness swept over us
(16:53):
awaken something within us, andfor a few moments,
we didn't see each other asenemies, into a darkness pierced
only by the lit Christmas trees,came a familiar sound From the
(17:15):
German side of the trenches,still a knocked, high like a
knocked a German soldier begansinging, Silent night, holy
night. All up and down theWestern Front. It spread for
miles and miles. Still aknocked, high, like a knocked
(17:41):
all is calm, all is bright. TheBritish troops were spellbound.
Many joined the singing, and asthey sang silent night together,
the two languages merged intoone, a language of peace, a
language of hope, a languagethat came from that more
(18:04):
beautiful world each heart knowsis possible but is sometimes
hard to imagine. They continueto sing into the night and as
the sun rose on Christmas Day,voices from both sides shouted,
you no shoot. We no shoot. Andbrave soldiers emerged from both
(18:31):
sides unarmed, walked slowly,ever so cautiously, up out of
the trenches into no man's land,and they met in the middle,
shook hands awkwardly, andexchanged Christmas greetings,
up and down the line, spreadingnorth and south south as
(18:54):
Spontaneous Christmas truce,gifts of cigarettes, Candy
sausages, Plum puddings,chocolates were exchanged, and
then uniform insignia, brassbuttons, belt buckles, more
singing and drinking and atseveral places along the western
(19:17):
front, soccer games were played.
The spirit of peace and goodwill prevailed over fear and the
demonic spirit of war. Thistruce continued Christmas night
into the second day and then,after a week or so, those in
(19:43):
power ordered the soldiers backinto the trenches, and the
shooting resumed once againacross no man's land in. 6000
deaths per day for the next 46months. But even for a short
(20:05):
while, the improbable becamepossible, the unimaginable
became a reality on a silentnight and holy night in the
trenches, the birth of theChrist Child, the Prince of
(20:30):
Peace, interrupted the violenceand drew hostile forces together
as brothers and for a fewmoments, gave weary soldiers a
taste of peace at Goodwill,again, as one soldier described
(20:56):
it, I could never have imaginedsuch a god forsaken place with
such despair and death,seemingly devoid of all hope,
could all of a sudden become soholy. Yet it was as if the
holiness swept over us awakenedsomething within us, and for a
(21:17):
few moments in time, we didn'tsee each other as enemies. This
is all in a book called SilentNight, the story of the World
War One Christmas truce, byStanley Weintraub. I know it's
not Christmas Eve, but in amoment, Silent Night will be
(21:42):
sung. May we remember somethingawakening in those soldiers,
interrupting the violence,causing them to come out of
their trenches, sharing animprobable peace, and even for
just a few moments as this songis sung, may something be
(22:07):
awakened in us. May we come outof the trenches of our despair
and cynicism, assuming things inthis world and in our own lives
will never change. May weexperience a peace within our
souls, a peace we didn't thinkpossible. May we be the ones who
(22:33):
see the darkness, know it'sreal, and choose to light a
candle anyway, and dare to holdthat fragile candle up against
the wind and pass along thelight wherever it's needed.
Remember, this is the irrationalseason Where Love Blooms bright
(23:00):
and wild. Had Mary been filledwith reason? There had been no
room for the child? Let's makeroom. Let's make room For the
Prince of peace.
(27:41):
Madeline, le'engle said, this isthe irrational season Where Love
Blooms bright and wild. Had Marybeen filled with reason? There
had been no room for the child?
May we come out of the trenchesof our despair and cynicism
assuming things in the world andin our lives will never change.
May we experience a peace withinour souls we didn't think
(28:07):
possible. May we shine a lightinto the darkest corners? May we
listen for the voice of theangel saying, Peace on earth,
good will to all, and dare tolive as if that promise is
possible. Go in the peace andthe love of Christ, and May the
(28:32):
love that you bring into thisworld bring peace to others.
Whitney Higdon (28:42):
Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope
you enjoyed this worshipservice. If you would like to
make a donation helping makethese podcasts possible or
support them many ways. First,Presbyterian seeks to serve our
community. You can make afinancial gift online at bend
fp.org, every week, we hear fromsomeone thanking us for the gift
(29:02):
of these broadcasts, and what adifference they make. Your
support makes that possible. Ourchurch is committed to reach
beyond our walls, bringing hopewhere there is despair and love
where it is needed the most.
Your generous support helps usto be generous in love. Go to
our website, bend fp.org, andclick on the link give online
Your support is reallyappreciated and makes a
(29:25):
difference in people's lives.
Thanks again. I hope to see younext week. You
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.