A service of lessons and carols
- Occurring
- for 1 hour, 15 mins
- Venue
- Guildford Cathedral
- Address Stag Hill Guildford, GU2 7UP, United Kingdom
The Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas is known world-wide through the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols which takes place annually in the chapel of King’s College, Cambridge. Our service this evening, though having seven rather than nine lessons, is based on that traditional format.
Most of our lessons this year, however, are from the Gospel of Luke, as this is the Gospel on which we focus this liturgical year in the three-year cycle of readings for Festivals and Sundays. Luke’s account of the first Christmas begins with the announcement of the birth of Jesus’ relative, John. John the Baptist, of course, turns out to be the great forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, and it is only from Luke that we hear more about his life before he takes up his extraordinary ministry as an adult. We also hear of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, whilst each was expecting their child; Elizabeth’s baby leapt in her womb for joy when Elizabeth heard that Mary, the mother of her Lord, had arrived.
Listen out for the angels, too – for they feature significantly in Luke, visiting:
Mary, the mother of Jesus and, later, the shepherds in their fields – at first just one angel and then a great multitude of heavenly host, praising God in the midst of the shining glory of the Lord.
It has often been observed that Luke shows an astute understanding of women in the way that he paints his narrative. Not only do we follow the pregnancies of Elizabeth and Mary, as their own stories are woven one into the other; but we are given insights into their own thoughts and ponderings, as they prepare to give birth and nurture to their respective sons, John (the Baptist) and Jesus, whose birth and lives – also intertwined - usher in the new era of God’s saving plan.
Our lessons conclude with the great prelude to John’s Gospel, and his profound interpretation of the events which are described by Luke.
May the Light which John proclaims shine in our lives and our world this Christmastide.
The service is sung by the Cathedral Choir, directed by the Organist and Master of the Choristers, Katherine Dienes-Williams. The organ is played during the service by Asher Oliver, Sub Organist, and before the service by George Baldwin, Organ Scholar.