Choral Evensong on the Second Sunday before Lent - Sunday 20 February, 5.45pm

foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] huh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] uh oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] foreign [Applause] oh [Music] more [Music] foreign [Music] welcome everyone to merton college chapel as this evening we give thanks for god's gift of creation god saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good dearly beloved brethren the scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of almighty god our heavenly father but confess them with a humble lowly penitent and obedient heart to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same by his infinite goodness and mercy and although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before god yet what we most chiefly so to do when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands to set forth his most worthy praise to hear his most holy word and to ask those things which are requisites and necessary as well for the body as the soul wherefore i pray and beseech you as many as i hear present to accompany me with a pure heart and humble voice unto the throne of the heavenly grace saying after me almighty and most merciful father we have heard and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts we have offended against thy holy laws we have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done and there is no health in us but thou o lord have mercy upon us miserable offenders spare thou them o god which confess their faults restore thou then that are penitent according to thy promises declared unto mankind in christ jesus you our lord and grant our most merciful father for his sake that we may hereafter live a godly righteous and sober life to the glory of thy holy name amen almighty god the father of our lord jesus christ who desireth not the death of a sinner but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live and hath given power and commandment to his ministers to declare and pronounce to his people being penitent the absolution and remission of their sins he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and unfailedly believe his holy gospel wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance and his holy spirit that those things may please him which we do at this present and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy through jesus christ our lord oh my gosh oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] we sit for the samadhi verses from psalm 147 [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] she is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] one [Music] the first lesson is written in the book genesis chapter one in the beginning when god created the heavens and the earth the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep while a wind from god swept over the face of the waters then god said let there be light and there was light and god saw that the light was good and god separated the light from the darkness god called the light day and the darkness he called light night and there was evening and there was morning the first day and god said let there be a dome in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters so god made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome and it was so god called the dome sky and there was evening and there was morning the second day and god said let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place and let the dry land appear and it was so god called the dry land earth and the waters that were gathered together he called seas and god saw that it was good then god said let the earth put forth vegetation plants yielding seed and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it and it was so the earth brought forth vegetation plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it and god saw that it was good and there was evening and there was morning the third day and god said let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years and let them be light in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth and it was so god made the two great lights the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars god set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth to rule over the day and over the night and to separate the light from the darkness and god saw that it was good and there was evening and there was morning the fourth day and god said let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky so god created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves of every kind with which the waters swarm and every winged bird of every kind and god saw that it was good god blessed them saying be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let birds multiply on the earth and there was evening and there was morning the fifth day and god said let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind and it was so god made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind and god saw that it was good then god said let us make humankind in our image according to our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth so god created humankind in his image in the image of god he created them male and female he created them god blessed them and god said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth god said see i have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit you shall have them for food and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth everything that has the breath of life i have given every green plant for food and it was so god saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good and there was evening and there was morning the sixth day thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude and on the seventh day god finished the work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done so god blessed the seventh day and hallowed it because on it god rested from all the work that he had done in creation here ends the first lesson myself [Music] is [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] boys is [Music] wow [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the second lesson is written in the gospel according to matthew chapter six therefore i tell you do not worry about your life what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body what you will wear is not life more than food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not of more value than they and can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life and why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin yet i tell you even solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these but if god so clothes the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you you of little faith therefore do not worry saying what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear for it is the gentiles who strive for all these things and indeed your heavenly father knows that you need all these things but strive first for the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well so do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring worries of its own today's trouble is enough for today here ends the second lesson oh [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] gloriously [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] foreign [Music] is come on [Music] let us [Music] christmas [Applause] [Music] our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who 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 oh [Music] to thy ministers with righteousness [Music] [Applause] [Music] if he is [Music] me the oh within us [Music] we could not trust in anything that we do mercifully grown not by thy power we may be defended against all adversities through jesus christ the whom our lord desires or good counsels and all just works to proceed give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments and also that binding we be defended for the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness through the merits of jesus christ our savior [Music] and dangers of his heart for the love of the only son our savior jesus christ [Music] so if you turn to page 17 of the booklets you can find the schedule of services for this week and over the page some other notices this terms chapel charity is the un refugee agency if you'd like to support the work of that charity you can find the collection plate on the table by the screen after the service everyone is most warmly invited to join us for a drink in the ante chapel this evening's anthem is a setting of words by christopher smart rejoice in the lamb music by benjamin britton um [Music] lord nations [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] let's take it with us [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] uh foreign [Music] is [Music] oh is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] my lord is foreign [Music] you will let us [Music] is [Music] please [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] lord is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] for this [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] boys [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] hi [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] may i speak in the name of god the father god the son and god the holy spirit amen in god o ye tongues give the glory to the lord and the lamb nations and languages and every creature in which is the breath of life let man and beast appear before him and magnify his name together high winds are circling our roofs 190 000 troops encircle ukraine not to mention the troops defensively circled within it and on a personal note my five-year-old godson who i live near to and who i've seen nearly every week since he was born was recently diagnosed with a lymphoma which is already far more advanced and aggressive than anyone at first thought this is hardly the time surely to be celebrating the elegant quickness of a beloved cat this is hardly the time surely for a theatrical joke of choosing the heroic alto voice to portray a humble mouse this is hardly the time surely for rejoicing but what benjamin britain's cantata rejoice in the lamb and indeed christopher smart's poem jubilati ano boldly perhaps naively defiantly proclaim is that our highest duty our highest calling what lies at the center of our being is the offering of creation's praise to god in july 1943 benjamin britain attended a proms performance of shostakovich's seventh symphony the mighty defiant and consoling leningrad symphony it had caused a worldwide sensation the year before for the way it seemed boldly to dispel the freezing murderous death of a massive nazi siege for the way it seemed to instill belief in a beleaguered people sensational for the way it seems to imagine in the present a beauty for the future even today the symphony speaks for the performance and the permanence of beauty in the face of war and death the first performance of rejoice in the lamb came only two months later commissioned for a joyful anniversary on 21st of september 1943. now rejoicing the lamb is undoubtedly full of exuberance and rejoicing but there is a dark and violent center totally different from what comes before or after an accusation hangs in the air of crimes which carry the penalty of death in forces of justice have turned on you and the watchman the protector of the people uses his staff to beat you it is a horrible moment but in the darkness britain leaves a secret musical code a code of that same defiant hope and beauty almost imperceptibly at first comes a four note figure which when written out in letter form stands for d s c h dimitri shostakovich [Music] [Music] so at its darkest moment when the text seems to be derailing from innocence to death britain invokes in a musical code of four notes shostakovich the shostakovich that stood for defiance and beauty and hope and britain applies that name to himself to his text and to all his hearers across the ages a message of defiance in the face of world war a defiance in the face of fear and hiding a defiance characterized by beauty and joy and praise but i want to show you something else equally brilliant from the text itself it quite deliberately evokes the language both of the beginning and the ending of the bible the genesis accounts we heard earlier and the fervent praise of the book of revelation the first creation account in genesis has a liturgical heir with its repeated phrases its emphasis on numbers and its high point with the appearance of god himself the creator abiding dwelling with his creation on the seventh day the day of completion and the repeated word of command is let there be let there be let the waters let the earth bring forth creatures let us make humankind in our image let there be and there was so we also heard tonight let nimrod bind a leopard and consecrate himself let ishmael dedicate a tiger and give praise let balaam and his ass bless the lord let daniel come forth with a lion and praise each time let is a word of creation no sooner is it said than it is done in smart's text no sooner is it done than the created human and animal hand in hand together everything in which is the breath of life turns in worship and praise what is this worship rejoicing the lamb describes it as all tongues rejoicing in god giving glory to the lord and to the lamb the one that was slain a magnifying of his name now listen to the words from the end of the bible from the book of revelation then i heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea singing to the one seated on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might hallelujah every creature every human every leopard every tiger every ass every lion every cat every mouse what is all the more remarkable is that smart biblical illusions were themselves products of capture and threat and imprisonment in the case of genesis we think it was written by people in exile captured and enslaved and in the case of revelation we think it was written by someone alone and imprisoned yet despite the circumstances of their writing both texts seek to reconfigure imaginations to perceive deep down the call to worship and praise in the presence of god and of the lamb the lamb who was slain for our sake the lamb in whom we rejoice what we see then with all these hope-filled worshipful accounts like genesis revelation smarts jubilati agno the leningrad symphony and of course rejoicing the lamb itself is that in that most dark and lonely place of feeling under siege when we feel afraid or are suffering when we feel oppressed or are imprisoned in the midst even of the most inexplicable and indiscriminate of diseases there is a calling to create beauty and when we recognize that we are the bearers of the image of the creator that we are made to be beauty creators we look around us and realize that creation itself is already abundantly beautiful the swallows and the lilies of our new testament reading the cats and the heroic mice even they too worship in their way and give us occasion to bless almighty god in the very same year of rejoicing the lamb the greatest theologian of the 20th century wrote this even the smallest creatures reflect the glory of the lord they do it along with us or without us they do it also against us to shame us and instruct us they do it because they cannot help doing it and when humanity recognizes it we are only like late comers slipping shame-facedly into creations choir in heaven and earth which has never ceased its praise our highest duty our highest calling what lies at the center of our being is the offering of creation's entire praise to god we are the creators image bearers called to create beauty a defiant proud confident beauty a beauty from the future a beauty that will outlast destruction a hope that will outlast fear and a love that will outlast death in the midst of the whirling wind in the midst of the threat of war in the midst of feeling besieged or beaten or turned on by those who should protect us in the midst of illness whether covid or cancer or any other disease this is precisely the time surely even if we're like late comers slipping into the choir of creation this is precisely the time surely for each of us to become beauty creators this is precisely the time surely to join in the unceasing refrain hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah for the heart of god and from the hand of the artist inimitable and from the echo of the heavenly heart in sweetness magnifical and mighty hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah amen let us pray then i heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea singing hallelujah let us join our voices to the song of creation worshiping the creator and rejoicing in the lamb the redeemer of the world and let us pray for that world and for its peoples that we may be responsible stewards of all that god has given us oh god you alone are unutterable the time you created all things that can be spoken of you alone are unknowable from the time you created all that can be known all things cry out about you those which speak and those which cannot speak all things honor you those which think and those which cannot think all things pray to you that comprehend your plan and offer you a silent hymn in you the one all things abide and all things endlessly run to you who are the end of all now and forever god saw that the light was good and god separated the light from the darkness in confidence and in hope let us also join our voices to the cry of those who are in need tonight all who are fearful of war the suffering and the oppressed those who feel powerless anxious or troubled in any way as we commend them to god let us also pray for ourselves that we who are bearers of god's image may be given grace to live lives that radiate god's beauty hope and love creator of light in whom there is no darkness at all enlighten us we pray with your wisdom your gentleness and your kindness that we in turn may shine as lights in the world help us to bring your hope and healing to all places and experiences of division and despair and grant us your grace that in our service of others we may lift their needs to you and extend your love to them through jesus christ our lord now in the stillness of this place let us be attentive to god's presence among us and offer him the thoughts and prayers on our hearts this evening we join our prayers together in the words of the grace the grace of our lord jesus christ and the love of god and the fellowship of the holy spirit and be with us all more amen we stand to sing our final him [Music] foreign foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Music] uh [Music] ah [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] for peace of god which passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of god and of his son jesus christ our lord and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit rest upon you and remain with you always [Music] oh [Music] in memoria 10 eric justice nostrum [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Music] he's thinking [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: MertonCollegeChoir

Views: 539

Keywords:

Id: eU2elXLVih4

Length: 91min 25sec (5485 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 20 2022