My "Lessons and Carols" Playlist

Since 1918, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge, has been a Christmas Eve tradition.  Broadcast (with one exception) by the BBC every year since 1928, the service tells the story of God's plan to reconcile the world to himself in Christ through nine scripture readings interspersed with carols by the choir and hymns by the congregation.  The readings have been fixed since 1919, and the opening and closing hymns are similarly static, but the songs between "Once in Royal David's City" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" vary from year to year, with new Christmas works for choir introduced from time to time.

Here are my favorites:

Organ Prelude

Opening Hymn

The Bidding Prayer

Beloved in Christ, be it this Christmastide our care and delight to hear again the message of the angels, and in heart and mind to go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Therefore let us read and mark in Holy Scripture the tale of the loving purposes of God from the first days of our disobedience unto the glorious Redemption brought us by this Holy Child.

But first, let us pray for the needs of the whole world; for peace on earth and goodwill among all his people; for unity and brotherhood within the Church he came to build, and especially in this city (town, village) of ... and diocese of ...

And because this of all things would rejoice his heart, let us remember, in his name, the poor and helpless, the cold, the hungry, and the oppressed; the sick and them that mourn, the lonely and the unloved, the aged and the little children; all those who know not the Lord Jesus, or who love him not, or who by sin have grieved his heart of love.

Lastly, let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore, and in a greater light, that multitude which no man can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom in the Lord Jesus we are forever one.

These prayers and praises let us humbly offer up to the Throne of Heaven, in the words which Christ himself hath taught us:

Our Father, 
which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil;
for thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

May the Almighty God bless us with His grace; Christ give us the joys of everlasting life, and unto the fellowship of the citizens above may the King of Angels bring us all. Amen.

Invitiatory Carol

The First Lesson

Genesis 3: 8–15; 17–19

The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate." The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you among all animals

and among all wild creatures;

upon your belly you shall go,

and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers;

he will strike your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

And to the man he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

and have eaten of the tree

about which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it’,

cursed is the ground because of you;

in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread

until you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.”

Adam lay ybounden
Bounden in a bond
Four thousand winters
Though he not too long
And all was for an apple
An apple that he took
As clerkes finden written in their book
Nay had the apple taken been
The apple taken been
Nay had never our lady
Abeen heavenly queen
Blessed be the time
That apple taken was
Therefore we bound singen
Deo gracias, deo gracias! 

The Second Lesson

Genesis 22:15-18

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."

The Third Lesson

Isaiah 9: 2; 6-7

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness--

on them light has shined.

For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His authority shall grow continually,

and there shall be endless peace

for the throne of David and his kingdom.

He will establish and uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time onward and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Fourth Lesson

Isaiah 11: 1–3a; 4a; 6–9

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

With righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

The wolf shall live with the lamb,

the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze,

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,

and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.

They will not hurt or destroy

on all my holy mountain;

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

The Fifth Lesson

Luke 1: 26–35; 38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

The Sixth Lesson

Luke 2: 1; 3–7

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Seventh Lesson

Luke 2: 8-16

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.

Hymn:

The Eighth Lesson

Matthew 2: 1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

OFFERTORY:

The Ninth Lesson

John 1: 1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

Benediction

Closing Hymn

Organ Postlude

Music for the First Sunday of Advent

This is my fantasy/wish list for music for the First Sunday of Advent with readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B.  The music can be plugged into any traditional order of worship, but I envisioned a traditional Book of Common Prayer order.  

The service begins with (what else?) Bach's Wachet auf!  

The choir follows immediately with the Introit, sung from an alternate location (gallery or back of the nave if they are normally at the front, chancel if they are normally in the back)...

...which is followed directly by the Entrance Hymn with an extended introduction if necessary to allow the choir to get into position for the procession).

The hymn for the Service of the Word (Sequence, Gradual, Gospel Acclamation, or Hymn of the Day) is

For the Offertory, a suitable choral setting of "The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns", followed by the first two stanzas of "O come, o come. Emmanuel" as the Presentation Hymn.

During communion, "Let all mortal flesh keep silence"

Closing Hymn:

And, immediately following the dismissal:

American Evangelicals, Donald Trump, and Matthew 25

Non-Evangelical Christians in the Western world (following the Revised Common Lectionary) have been camped in the parables of the Kingdom for weeks, with the last three weeks of the Church Year spent in the 25th Chapter of Matthew.  While Pat Robertson, Kenneth Copeland, and Paula White-Cain have been prophesying the desires of their hearts, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing, the faithful around the globe have been listening to Jesus and practicing His teachings.  

On Sunday, November 8 (following the American Evangelicals' Great Disappointment), we heard the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13).  Those who were not prepared for what was to come were left out in the cold, while the wise ones were celebrating with the Bridegroom.  In the context of Jesus' parables (particularly in Matthew), wisdom is equated with hearing and doing Jesus' teachings - and the next two parables support that interpretation.

November 15th featured the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30).  The Lord left on a long journey, empowering his servants to take care of business in his absence.  Upon his return, he conducted a performance evaluation and handed out rewards and punishments as warranted.  The servant who thought his master unjust (dishonest, etc.) and therefore was too afraid of losing to do what was expected ended up out in the cold, while the faithful servants who did what was expected of them were welcomed with joy.

Finally, on the 22nd, we heard non-parable (more a declarative prophecy) of the Judgment of the Nations (Matthew 25:31-46), where Jesus is crystal clear in delineating His expectations - the standard by which the final judgment will be conducted.  A whole bunch of people who thought they were on the Lord's side - prophets and miracle workers among them - will be massively disappointed with their final outcome.

Now that the results of the 2020 Presidential Election have been tabulated and certified, and after considering the lessons of the last three weeks (both in and out of Church),  I feel comfortable sharing more widely what I've only told a select few.  Since at least 1992, I have held the view that the winner of the Presidential election had been and would be the individual whose heart (not the party platform) was most open to the teachings of Jesus - not the so-called "Biblical principles" espoused by American Evangelicals, but the red-letter stuff Jesus actually said.  Cycle after cycle reinforced that belief - even the mess of 2000.  Then 2016 happened, and I asked the Lord for an explanation as to why He allowed a man who embodied the works of the flesh and the Seven Deadly Sins (with none of the fruit of the Spirit) to ascend to the Presidency, when there were far better candidates available, at least in the Republican primary field.  He told me He was giving them the leader they deserved in order to expose the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the Republican/Evangelical coalition.  I believe the condition of American Evangelicalism has been well and truly exposed, but I could be wrong - there may be more corruption and decay that has yet to see the light of media exposure in the Internet Age.  For those who continue to embrace "alternative facts", the plague is out there and cares not for your religious freedom or the false prophets who have told you "all will be well" - especially those who prophesied a Romney residence or a second Trump term.  

When it comes time for the final evaluation, the only thing that matters is how you live out the words of Jesus.  Feed the hungry.  Care for the sick, if you can't find the faith to heal them.  Show hospitality to immigrants and refugees.  Seek humane treatment for prisoners - and don't look the other way when cops kill unarmed civilians.  If you oppose abortion (and rightly so), ensure the social safety net can handle health care, child care, food, and housing for those babies and their mothers.  Otherwise, you're not pro-life -- you're just anti-sex.  You can put the red-letter teachings of Jesus into practice in your own life, and advocate for them in society, or you can find yourself left behind, out in the cold, and in the company of the devil and his angels.  Choose wisely.

Censorship on Social Media? STFU, Snowflake.

So-called conservatives are complaining about social media "censorship".  They are acting like Marxists, worse than the whiny social justice warriors they complain about incessantly.  What do they propose to do about this huge problem?  Class action lawsuits?  Government takeover of private property?

 

A lawsuit would get dismissed for two reasons.  First, social media accounts are set up under terms of use agreements that contain arbitration clauses.  Second, in the event there was a court that would ignore Federal law and refuse to enforce binding arbitration, there is no plaintiff with standing to bring a suit under Article III of the Constitution because there are no damages.  YouTube won't publish your rant video?  How much did you pay for the right to post whatever you please?  Oh…nothing?  Well, here's your money back, with interest.  Go home, Karen.

 

You would deny the property owner the right to tear down your posters from their fence, or paint over your graffiti? You demand YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to allow you to do whatever you want using their facilities that you don't pay for? If you are demanding the right to use someone else's private property like it was public property, you're a goddamn communist. If you don't like YouTube controlling the bandwidth it pays for, you need to pay for your own. If the Government shuts down free speech, that's unconstitutional censorship. If a private company enforces terms of use you agreed to when you set up an account on their platform, that's capitalism. You're free to speak from the public square and publish your rants in a newspaper or magazine you print at your own expense, but you can't commandeer private property for your purposes. Grow up and stop like acting like the frickin' Marxists you claim to oppose.

Joseph of Arimathaea

August 1 is the day currently designated to commemorate Joseph of Arimathaea.  It used to be July 31, but the damned Jesuits stole it because their founder had the nerve to die on that day.  You'll notice I considered JK Rowling (and Harry Potter) more worthy of a post than Ignatius of Loyola. 

 

All four Gospels recount the detail that Jesus was buried in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathaea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and secret disciple of Jesus who had, along with fellow council member Nicodemus, interceded with Pilate to be allowed to give Jesus' body a proper and timely Jewish burial.  Scripture doesn't tell us much else, but tradition (folklore, really) has quite a bit to add.  One of the more intriguing accretions is the legend that Joseph of Arimathaea gained was a wealthy merchant in the metals industry, who had an interest in tin mines in Britain (Cornwall, specifically) and traveled there by sea frequently.  On one such trip, he was accompanied by his nephew, Jesus of Nazareth.  His legend is the basis for William Blake's poem, set to music by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry:

 

BBC Proms - Hubert Parry: Jerusalem (orch. Elgar)

 

 

Saint John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople in the 4th Century, wrote that Joseph was one of the Seventy Apostles Jesus commissioned in Luke 10.  Medieval legends place Joseph as having custody of the Holy Grail, the chalice of the Last Supper, and bringing it to Britain after the Resurrection.  He is credited with being responsible for the fact that Christianity was already firmly rooted in England well before the Roman armies arrived with missionaries in tow.  Tertullian, who died in AD 222, wrote that Britain had embraced the Gospel by his day.  Queen Elizabeth I credited Joseph with bringing Christianity long before the existence of the Roman Catholic Church when defending the Church of England against Rome's attempts to delegitimize it.  The world's oldest (and arguably most) Christian nation has adopted Blake's anthem as second to "God Save the Queen", and this Anglophile wishes our own country had one as good.