Tonal chants of "Our Father" floated like strings of incense throughout the high rafters of All Saints Anglican Church tonight, as close to 100 people gathered in a borrowed sanctuary where the leaders of a small local church plant led us in a Candlemas service.
Candlemas is a term used in the Anglican tradition for the "Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple," or the Feast of the Purification of the Saint Mary the Virgin."* Having begun with a candle-lighting across the entire sanctuary, the service progressed into a liturgy dating back to the 16th century, accompanied by music from the time written by Thomas Tallis for the royal court and performed tonight by the Malone University Chamber Choir, under the direction of Dr. David Donelson.
After the decalogue (a chant of the Ten Commandments, each succeeded by the phrase, "Lord have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this law"), we heard from the Word of God. A priest read from the Gospel of Luke about the encounter Mary and Joseph had at the temple when a man named Simeon saw them and immediately knew that this beautiful baby boy was the Messiah, Immanuel, God Incarnate with us. The homily, delivered by Father Brian M. Chase, called us all to reflect upon the beauty around us; each element of such beauty in creation, art, music, and otherwise is reflective of God's presence in our lives. Beauty is not the end in itself, but it points to, as does the beauty of the liturgy itself, the Creator of all beauty, Beauty Himself Incarnate, God Almighty.
Albeit an impromptu contribution to this fifteen week journey, tonight's Candlemas service gave Hannah and I an intriguing experience in simple worship of Jesus Christ. We don't often get to enjoy the simplicity of worship in this manner and came away refreshed by the beauty of true sanctity. The pleasant stimulation of the senses by candlelight and incense, along with the brilliantly presented worship experience by the Chamber Choir, complemented Father Brian's homily gracefully.
Take time this weekend to worship God through acknowledging him as the Creator, the Source of the beauty all around us.
*This definition is taken directly from the program I received upon entering the service tonight.
I'm sad I missed it. I was looking forward to performing with the chamber choir tonight but I am at home recovering from a car accident. I enjoyed this post though...I'm glad I could get a detailed account of a rare type of service =)
ReplyDelete-Matt O