Prisoner of war's self-made violin became a symbol of hope
Food for Thought column by Rev Duncan Macleod.
This past year has been a year like no other that any of us can remember, and for many this will also be a Christmas like no other as there will be very understandable anxieties as to what the consequences of the temporary easing of restrictions might be.
The new vaccines do, of course, offer hope that things are going to change for the better, but uncertainties still abound and none of us can say we really know when we`ll be able to say for sure that the pandemic is over.
During this past year we marked the 75th anniversary of the ending of World War II and I`d like in this article to share a Christmas story of hope from that war with you all.
A pilot by the name of Clair Cline was shot down, captured, and taken to a prisoner-of-war camp one day as he flew over Germany. There, the men lived in wooden barracks and slept on rough bunks, on sacks filled with straw. They may well have starved if the Red Cross had not provided occasional food parcels. It was a truly dismal place and Clair felt very down and lonely. The prisoners had nothing to do all day long and one of the worst problems was boredom.
One day Clair prayed to God, ‘Lord, please help me to find something constructive to do!’ Suddenly he heard someone whistling a tune which he recognized as a song he used to play on his violin.
Clair had an idea! He would make a violin! The problem was that there was nothing to make a violin from. He looked round. He looked at the bunk beds. They had wooden slats across them. Perfect! He began to remove them.
Over the next few months, Clair traded his Red Cross rations with the guards to get a penknife and other necessary things. He and his friends collected dried glue from the backs of their chairs and melted it down to produce glue that would hold the violin together.
Slowly the violin took shape. All the men, including the guards, were fascinated. One of the guards managed to get hold of some strings for him. When the violin was finished, a guard gave Clair a bow! To everyone’s surprise the violin sounded beautiful.
On Christmas Eve, Clair began to play Silent Night on his violin – all the men in the barracks joined in, thinking about their families at home. Then a different noise was heard, “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht, alles schlaft, Einsam wacht.’
Before long even some of the German guards joined in as they sang in their own language “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.
In May the following year, the war ended. Clair took his violin with him and it was kept at his home. There it became a reminder to his children that even in the saddest times there is always hope. At this Christmas time, and especially with all that`s going on in the world just now let us remember that there is always hope.
The shepherds and the wise men were full of hope because of the difference they believed this infant of Mary would make to the world. Let us hold on to that hope and this Christmas do our bit to bring peace and tell others about Jesus Christ who is the sure and certain hope of all who receive him into their lives as Saviour and Lord.
Duncan Macleod is the Free Church minister at Dornoch.
