AND A LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS - REFLECTIONS ON LESSONS AND CAROLS - DEACON INTERN TODD OLBERDING, ST. AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

9 Lessons and Carols has been and remains the story of Light. 
And it is a story of our call to witness to the Light              .
Once again, Father Joseph has reminded us of a hidden gem - Hymn 82.
Of the Father's love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!             
“Of the Father's love begotten” is also known as DIVINUM MYSTERIUM.  It is one of the oldest melodies in our tradition. First published in 1582, the melody dates from the 1200s.  The text was written in the 300s after the Council of Nicea.  The early Church wrestled, as we might, with their understanding of the Trinity.  The belief in the trinity was established in the hymn's opening line when it affirms that Christ is both human and divine. 
This song seems a perfect bookend to our last lesson.  John tells us that God has always been and always will be.  The Love that was shared with us in and through Christ cannot be destroyed.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

While this is one of my favorite readings, I did a double take when I read “the darkness did not comprehend it”.  I was more familiar with language which reads “and the darkness did not overcome it.”  Does darkness have mental capabilities?
Can darkness be seen as actively working against the power of light?
Against the light of Christ in the World?
At times, it is easy to be discouraged.  The darkness appears to be everywhere. 
               Our first reading from Isaiah, from a period of about 700 years before Jesus’s birth, refers to the darkness. It speaks of “the people who walked in darkness … those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death.”
               And in Matthew, we read about “Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
               The first Lessons and Carols service came out of a response to darkness too.  Given on Christmas Eve, 1880, Rev Benson created it to offer a “counterattraction to the public houses.”   Some very dark places, I’m sure.
In 1918, the Rev. Milner-White of Kings College revised the service to what we often hear today.  He too was aware of the presence and power of darkness.  He had served as a military chaplain in WWI and had witnessed the horrors of trench warfare. He wrote:
               “We feel powerless against the dream of the metal tearing its way into the bodies of poor men.” 
Twenty-three percent of the members of his congregation died during the war. 
Twenty-three percent.
As we look back on 2020, many of us may also have a sense of the darkness, living under the multiple shadows of COVID-19.  The loss of so many, the isolation, the fear and anxiety.
Will darkness win?
These lessons shout – no. 
NO – for they tell “of the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”
Even in the darkness noted in Isaiah, we hear the promise of hope.  The prophet foretells the coming of the Savior.
               In Micah, we hear “Bethlehem, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth the One to be Ruler in Israel”.  I read into that, that no matter how small we are, we can do great things too, though faith.
               In our 1st reading from Luke, we participate in the love story as we hear the angel say “the LORD is with you.”  You might see yourself, standing there hearing these words. In the pause that followed did the angel wonder what Mary might say? Did the angel doubt Mary’s willingness or her faith? How could she possibly be the bearer of all God’s promises? How could she ever carry the weight of the world’s deep longing in her womb.  But then, as now, we might hear these words in response to our prayers, ‘the LORD is with us”.
So Mary in the stillness of her room received the promise of God. “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.”
In faith, she received and by faith she obeyed.
In our lesson from Luke, I see hope and some irony.  As “the days were completed for Mary”, they were participating in a census. Even today, we still count people.
In the second chapter of Luke, verses 8-16, we again are reminded of the light.  As the Shepherds are watching the flocks, the glory of the Lord shone around them.
               When Milner provided the service in December of 1918, he wanted to grieve the loss of the young men.  He also wanted the simple beauty of Christian worship to shine through.  He said he wanted the service to focus on “color, warmth, and delight”.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
I think the placement of this service today provides a great lesson plan for 2021. Yes, the darkness has been and will be part of our earthly pilgrimage, BUT it will not absorb the Light.  We have been called to witness to this light, to share this love which leads us from darkness into light.
As Bishop Curry reminds us, Love is not a noun, it’s a verb!          
Amen
             
​~ Deacon Intern Todd S. Olberding, St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church