Lessons, Carols and More Lessons

There is a beautiful traditional in churches that associate as members of the Anglican Communion (in my case, the Episcopal church).  It is a once-a-year service known as Lessons and Carols.

It's not old as Anglican Services go, having been first offered in 1880 on Christmas Eve by the then Bishop of Truro (who'd later become the Archbishop of Canterbury).  But the most famous Lessons and Carols are offered today, still on Christmas Eve, by King's College in Cambridge (England).  The College first held Lessons and Carols in 1918 and began broadcasting the service throughout the world in 1928.  The Dean of the Cathedral in 1918 was Eric Milner-White.  He'd been an army chaplain and thought that the Church of England could use some "more imaginative worship."  It was King's College that first began opening the service with the iconic "Once in Royal David's City."

The altar at St. Peter's.

My church's celebration of Lessons and Carols is deeply rooted in this standard.  This year's service, however, was truly an amazing gift to our community and, I believe, filled everyone in attendance with a hopefulness and sense of peace that can only come from an acceptance and understanding of how grace has moved through time.  It is, after all, a celebration of grace.

At first I was a bit put off by the date ... December 20.  Although I've previously blogged how I'm perfectly comfortable these days with the blurring of Advent and Christmas seasons in my life, I'd rather expected my church (St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Morristown, NJ) to hold more strictly to the calendar.  At St. Peter's we'd traditionally done these Lessons and Carols on the first Sunday after Christmas Day, usually a couple of days into the short Christmas season.  Of course, it was not well attended, people being either exhausted from the hustle and bustle of the times, traveling to visit friends and relatives or simply, "churched out."  When I finally arrived in the Narthex of our beautiful building after a stressful hunt for parking in downtown Morristown where the restaurants were overflowing and the Nutcracker was being performed across the street, I was amazed and thrilled to find the Nave full of worshippers.  The choir had already begun the first Carol and was in procession, lighting the candles of the congregation as they passed by each pew.  The dimmed lights, dark red poinsettias everywhere and incense that floated through the air all combined to set the stage for the deep and holy mystery that is the story of God's saving grace in salvation.  And I was completely over my hesitation in the choice of dates ....

Another tradition that, over the years, has attached itself to Lessons and Carols is the choice of asking members of the parish staff to read the lessons (we did seven this year).  I was told by a past organist this was regularly done in English churches.  I was always thrilled to read, when I was on staff.  Because I was late (due to the aforementioned parking problems), I didn't see the beautiful procession down the aisle which included the people who were slated to read the lessons we would hear.  When I flipped to the back of my service leaflet, I was amazed to see the names of representatives from all ranks of leadership in our community.  The Reverend Janet Broderick had invited the Mayor, a congressman, a state senator, a school principal and clergy from neighboring churches of different denominations.  How wonderful, I thought.  Here is a living example of how people in the community can come together, despite their differing ideologies and paths in life, to create something of profound beauty.  It's no secret I've lately been pretty disillusioned by people with power and the opportunity to make decisions that affect us all.  I felt a little ray of hope begin to swell at the symbolism of the guests.

After that first hymn in procession and a few prayers, the alternating of carols and lessons began.  Some were anthems sung by our outstanding choir made up of both young children and adults.  Some were carols that were sung by all with soaring descants contributed by the choir.  I've listed the music and the lessons below if you're interested in knowing what exactly was sung and read.

After the fourth lesson, after Jesus had been born again in a manger, we knelt and sang Silent Night by candlelight.  We actually do this every Christmas Eve too.  In the stillness and hush of the darkened church, this simple song and the simple act of kneeling cause me to catch my breath every time.  " ... love's pure light ..."; " ... with the dawn of redeeming grace ..."  It's impossible not to realize how very blessed we are.

Lesson after lesson we heard again about that grace:  that love that came down at Christmas; that love, all lovely; that love, divine.*  The musical choices were spot on; our Director of Music, Joshua Stafford has a gift for choosing the right piece for each moment.  Our choir is made up of very talented musicians, some professional and some for whom this is their contribution to our ministry.  The children, under Josh, are sounding terrific.  These children are getting a brilliant music education and the opportunity to sing some challenging and important works at a very young age.  My own two children passed through this program years ago.  It was a very formative part of their childhoods and gave them many opportunities to be of service to our church and the wider community.  They traveled up and down the East Coast, to Canada and the United Kingdom.  They speak of their experiences in choir often and with great love.

The service moves through the story of Christ's birth until finally we come to the concluding lesson from John ... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  It concludes by telling us the Word was born a man and lived among us, "... full of grace and truth."  Grace and truth.  As Janet would say, this is an astounding gift.

I think I floated out of the church on a wave of goodwill and anticipation.  I felt hopeful and at peace.  My mom and I drove back to her house chatting excitedly about the service.  

And then we were struck with another lesson.  We'd barely walked through the door when my brother, home for the holidays announced that two police officers had been shot at point blank range in Brooklyn, New York.  All the joy and euphoria from having been so uplifted, so filled with grace was immediately dashed by this stark truth:  there is evil in the world and we haven't banished it yet.  Details were sketchy at that point but over the next day we learned along with everyone else that he was a man with a police record a mile long and the desire to commit a purely heinous act.  He took his own life as well so there will always be unanswered questions with only detective work and best guesses to fill in the blanks.  There are bigger questions too.  Like why he was allowed to own a gun.  Shouldn't his arrest record have precluded his purchasing a firearm?  The answer seems rather obvious to me and I wonder why it isn't to those with the power to prevent (or at least know they tried to) tragedies like this.

Such a tragic last lesson of the night and a grim reminder of the harsh reality that despite the grace and truth that came to show us all a better path through life, we continue to reject the gift every time we strike out against a fellow human being whether it is with words or weapons, each time we don't acknowledge the poverty and pain we could alleviate if we could learn to work together.  

But for me there was a saving grace ... I was able to relive much of the promise of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve when the age-old story was repeated once again (with more brilliant music, I might add).  Perhaps if we keep revisiting that story and other stories that point us on whatever path to truth we choose to walk, one day we'll wake up to a world like Longfellow yearned for when he wrote:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail; the right prevail,
With peace on earth good will to men."**

~~~~~~

Christmas Lessons and Carols, December 20, 2014
St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Morristown, New Jersey

Carol:  Once In Royal David's City
Anthem:  What sweeter musick (William Bradley Roberts, Robert Herrick)
The First Lesson from Genesis in which God announces that the seed of woman shall bruise the serpent's head.
Anthem:  Adam lay ybounden (Carson Cooman)
The Second Lesson from Isaiah in which the peace that Christ will bring is foreshown.
Anthem:  Lo, how a Rose e're blooming (Dale Adelmann)
The Third Lesson from Luke in which the angel Gabriel visits the Virgin Mary.
Carol:  Ye who claim the faith of Jesus
Anthem:  Tell Out My Soul (David Hurd, Timothy Dudley Smith)
The Fourth Lesson from Luke in which Jesus is born.
Anthem:  As I walked down the road at set of sun (Michael Head, Margaret Rose)
Carol:  Silent Night
The Fifth Lesson from Luke in which the shepherds go to the manger.
Carol:  While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night
Anthem:  In the bleak mid-winter (Harold Darke, Christina Rossetti)
The Sixth Lesson from Matthew in which the wise men are led by a star.
Anthem:  A babe is born all of a may (William Mathias)
Carol:  We Three Kings
The Seventh Lesson from John in which he unfolds the great mystery of the Incarnation
Carol:  O Come, All Ye Faithful
Carol:  Hark the Herald Angels Sing


*Love Came Down At Christmas
~ Christina Rossetti, 1885

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love shall be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

** I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
William Wadsworth Longfellow, Christmas Day 1863 

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

St. Peter's Church
At the corner of South Street and Miller Road in Morristown.