What would you give to spend an hour or two in a place where
you left feeling as luminous as the Super Moon that graced our world this
weekend? Where you were fed more than a meal for one sitting, but shared in a
feast so rich you received fuel to energize you for weeks, perhaps months or
maybe a lifetime?
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| Duke Chapel ~ neo-Gothic architecture in the English style |
Today my husband and I joined hundreds of others in worship
at Duke Chapel where The Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells preached his final sermon as Dean
of Duke Chapel. It was a beautiful, moving, powerful service of worship, complete
with all one would expect and more on such an occasion. This evening as I reflect on the morning, I
sense an enlarging of my own capacities, an eagerness for the week to begin,
yet a settled comfort in the quiet space of home at eventide.
Having been in Sunday morning worship in Christian churches
for two to four services each Sunday for many years as a Music Director, I know
that every Sunday will not be grand. And yet the cumulative effect of
worshipping the triune God and growing to love my neighbor through these
kaleidoscopic acts of worship has molded me to receive this morning’s fare with
greater joy and deeper reflection. Sometimes I ache for those I love, whether
in my family, neighborhood, or beyond who struggle with life’s wrinkles and tears, trying
all kinds of solutions except to come to the Lord’s house in humble worship.
Several things particularly struck me this morning:
To see this on the video from this morning, click on the highlighted time in the brackets [ ]
SHOWING LOVE IN UNEXPECTED WAYS: As a lovely gesture of good wishes to their
beloved pastor, many of the women (and a few men) wore stylish hats to worship
and/or the luncheon that followed on the lawn. Rev. Wells is heading for St
Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, to serve as their new Vicar. When I saw this bon voyage of hats everywhere,
I thought of the hats from my mother’s collection in my closet at home. It has
just never worked to wear a hat with a Director’s choir robe! I wish I had
known! I may have been brave enough to
don one.
A SERMON ILLUSTRATION: The Dean's sermon, “Closing the Book,” [0:37:20] brought laughter, nods of “amen”
(it’s high church—no one shouts out their amen, but I suspect the attending
angels heard many of them), and tears. The latter came for me when Rev. Wells
told a story about a question his young son once asked mummy during the processional
hymn. As the one carrying the processional cross passed by their pew the child
whispered, “Will Daddy ever carry the cross?” [0:55:30]. A profound question
from the lips of a child.
This illustration came home in a beautiful, living picture
at the end of the service. Protocol in
liturgical worship has a worship helper called a “crucifer” carry the cross in
and out of the service, attended by worship helpers called “acolytes” carrying
the altar candles.
This morning however, Rev. Wells carried the cross out in a beautiful
BENEDICTION, along with his two children carrying the altar candles and
his wife carrying the large Bible [1:34:55]. “He Shall Feed His Flock” echoed throughout
that vast space as this beloved family slowly made their way down the length of
the nave to the back of the church.
Will that little boy ever forget this act
of worship drama? It will surely haunt my memory for a long, long time. Who can forget the look on Rev. Wells’s face, which spoke of many things dear and beckoning, simple and epic. As he passed our row, I thought of Christ carrying his cross to Golgotha and wondered what story his face told to those who lined the streets of Jerusalem.
MUSIC AND MORE: Many
of us who live in the vicinity of Duke Chapel (yet worship at other churches)
attend worship at Duke on occasion. I like to do so once a year when I have a
vacation Sunday off. The grandeur of the architecture, the dignity of the
worship services, and of course the outstanding music by the choir, organists,
and other musicians all add up to a rich experience in worship. I always leave thinking
that if worship on earth can be this other-worldly, surely worship in heaven
will be something beyond mortal words.
Below is a list of music that was offered in this service,
all excellently, convincingly to the glory of God.
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| NASA video ScienceCasts: The Super Moon of May 2012 |
Tonight I cannot see the Super Moon because of the cloud
cover in our area. Lord, bring that thought to mind next time Sunday worship seems a little dry,
or I harrumph like Eeyore when the
alarm rings early on a Sunday morning. In the house of our Lord, every Sunday is a little Easter, a Super Moon celebration of all that is real, and true, and dear. I
could say more, but this essay is already past the expected limit for a blog
post. For all that is mentioned above,
won’t you join me in saying, “Thanks be to God!”
Music in Worship at Duke Chapel on May 6, 2012
[0:05] Organ prelude
“Cathédrales” from Pièces de Fantaisie, Op. 55, No. 3 Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Precious Lord Take My Hand Thomas
A. Dorsey
(1899-1993)
arr.
Roland M. Carter
[15:00] Processional
Hymn
God’s Companions EIN’
FESTE BURG
Newly composed
text by Samuel Wells
[1:06:15] Offertory
Upon This Rock John Ness
Beck
(1930-1987)
[1:23:40] Communion
Anthem
The Last Words of David Randall
Thompson
(1899-1984)
[1:44:50] Choral
Blessing
God Be in My Head John
Rutter
(b.
1945)
[1:47:15] Postlude
Nun danket alle Gotte (Marche triomphale) Sigfrid Karg-Elert
(1877-1933)
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