I woke in the wee hours last night. It isn’t at all uncommon for me. I’ve never been very good at sleeping and I frequently rise in the night and read a few magazine articles or a chapter of a book before settling into a second round of sleep before getting up in the morning. I’ve read that this is a particularly bad habit. Studies show a connection between poor sleep patterns and weight gain, heart disease, and a number of other problems and ailments. However, my sleeplessness, or rather waking in the night, seldom causes me any distress of which I am aware. I simply take a break from my sleeping and before long I’m back in bed.

What was fun about last night was that I woke with a Christmas carol in my head. I suppose that if I lived alone, I might have literally sung out in the night, but respect for my made led me to think better of that. It was not surprise to me that the carol that was occupying my mind at 1:34 a.m. was the traditional English carol, sometimes known as Sussex Carol:

On Christmas night all Christians sing,
To hear the news the angels bring;
On Christmas night all Christians sing,
To hear the news the angels bring:
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King’s birth.

The carol was arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1919. The main reason it was in my head is that our choir spent over an hour woodshedding a particularly challenging arrangement of the carol last night. We will be singing it at the 7 pm service this evening. The arrangement calls for the melody to be traded between female and male voices, with particularly challenging intervals in the harmony. To make matters even more complex, the six-eight time can be divided into two beats per measure or three beats per measure and sometimes we have to sing three beats against two (or vice versa). And it is a song of joy so the tune really moves along. After all:

Then why should men on earth be sad,
Since our Redeemer made us glad:
Then why should we on earth be sad,
Since our Redeemer made us glad:
When from our sin He set us free,
All for to gain our liberty.

Our choir is a bit small this Christmas. It is a product of the times in many ways. Our congregation is constantly changing. Families come and go as careers and life events lead them in different directions. We lose several members to death each year. New members come, but it takes time for them to learn the art of church craft and become as fully involved as were the members who we have lost. This isn’t a bad thing. We’ve had a bubbly and exciting year with more baptisms than any year in the last 25. I can remember years when we were wondering if we had a baby to play the part of Jesus in the pageant. This year, we had at least seven readily available. Our tradition of having the newest baby for the Christmas Eve service means that we’ll have a baby that is in its first month tonight. We’re happy about the growth and change in our church. But while the population is swelling in the baby department, we’re going through a slump in the choir.

Choral singing is experiencing a decline in our culture at the same time. Many congregations, even those larger than ours, are replacing traditional choirs with small ensembles to lead music. There is no single right way to worship, but the decline of choirs is a sad thing for me. I enjoy participating in a church where there are lots and lots of leaders and where it takes teamwork and practice to produce worship. Choral singing teaches about being a member in a group and seems so appropriate to worship. When there are too many small ensembles or soloists, it can come off as a performance for the applause of an audience. A choir leading a congregation in song makes it much more participatory for all. I know that is a bias, but at least it is a bias with a bit of theological basis.

But we belong to our culture. We reflect the wider culture of our community. How could it be otherwise. Even though we are called to be counter-cultural - to live in response to the goodness of God rather than the pressures of the world - we are influenced by the culture in which we are immersed.

When sin departs before Your grace,
Then life and health come in its place;
When sin departs before Your grace,
Then life and health come in its place;
Angels and men with joy may sing,
All for to see the newborn King.

The practice of Christian faith in this life is never a clear-cut slice of perfection. It is a human attempt to respond to the goodness of God from the midst of this life. We bring our best before God knowing that it will be accepted because of God’s grace and love. We make mistakes because we are human. We present our human lives to God knowing that God understands our humanity, has lived our human condition, and loves us.

So tonight we will raise our carols. We will tell our story. We will light our candles. We will celebrate from the midst of our confused and confusing lives. We will not deny the pain and sorrow and sadness of this world. We will not forget those who are suffering. We will not pretend that we’ve got everything figured out. Instead we will acknowledge that God comes to us in the midst of our human condition, filled with grief and sorrow, sin and sadness. And in that messy reality that is human existence, God brings hope, peace, joy and love.

All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night;
All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night:
“Glory to God and peace to men,
Now and forevermore. Amen.”

Tonight will be a night to celebrate.

I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.