Honors Church: Lessons and Carols

On November 12, in the seminary chapel, the J.N. Andrews Honors program welcomed the Holiday Season with their annual Honors church, themed ‘Lessons and Carols: O Come, O Come Emmanuel.’ The program was structured in the typical British Lessons and Carols tradition, with a few changes to spice things up. This service, practiced since the nineteenth century, is outlined with nine sections, each one with a Scripture reading, song, and prayer. The nine lessons follow the storyline developed in the Bible, starting with the fall of mankind and our need for a savior; the promise of Jesus expounded upon in Isaiah; and ending with the fulfillment of that promise in the Gospels. The Honors officer team, however, shortened the routine with five lessons instead—each with a Scripture reading, a song, and a poem replacing the prayer. The title “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” inspired by the hymn,  connects to the first coming of Christ being fulfilled, the reason for this season, and looking forward to the second coming of Christ, which affects the way that we live now.  From the plethora of poems, scriptures, and carols shared this day, I asked students what their favorite section was and why.

Izzy Koh (senior, English) replied, “One of my favorite moments from Honors Church was when everybody sang ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ together. When we got to the chorus, and were singing ‘Rejoice!’, it was so lovely to experience everybody singing around me and putting their whole hearts into it. It was wonderful to feel surrounded by community in that way!”

“O Come O Come Emmanuel” was sung to open the program before the first lesson. The lyrics, “Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease; Fill the whole world with heaven's peace” echoed throughout the rest of the program.

Alex Hess (senior, English), the reader for the poem “Love Came Down at Christmas” by Christina Rossetti, answered, “My favorite part of this year’s Honors church program was Terika’s reading of ‘Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem’ by Maya Angelou. It was a poem I’d never heard before, but felt particularly poignant in our world—especially when it feels like everything is going wrong. I appreciated how both the poem and the program itself drove home the need to, amidst all the chaos of our daily lives, to be a good human and show love and compassion for those around us. Plus it was the perfect way to usher in the holiday season!”

In this poem, “Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem”, Maya Angelo unites all people under the peace that Christmas brings. She wrote that through Christmas joy, “The world is encouraged to come away from rancor, Come the way of friendship.”

Lauren Butler (senior, biology), responded, “My favorite lesson was the fifth lesson, ‘Rejoicing at the Birth of the Savior.’” The Scripture reading for this lesson was Luke 2:4-16, which details the shepherd's account of Jesus’ birth. The poem read was Langston Hughes’s “Shepherd's Song At Christmas,” and the Andrews University Singers, lead out by Professor Zork, sang “He Shines,” composed by Grant Steinweg (graduate, music).

When thinking of how the pandemic affected the previous Honors church programs, and her current class standing, Lauren said, “My favorite aspect of Honors Church this year was the return to gathering without reservation and being able to fellowship together in a meaningful celebration of Christmas and the birth of Jesus. I will miss Honors church greatly next year!”

Dr. Luxton’s homily connected each of the five lessons. My favorite point is that she made the connection between Emmanuel, which means “God with us,” and the present. We can experience change in our world, our lives, and our campus now because Emmanuel exists with us now. Our motto celebrates being the World Changers that Christ’s presence (as Emmanuel) allows.

“Joy to The World” was strategically placed at the end of the program to usher the congregation out into the world with a reminder that God “rules the world with truth and grace,” which is a reason to be joyful.