Traditional Bible Readings for a Festival of nine Lessons and Carols
The format of theFestival of Nine Lessons and Carolshas been largely unchanged since 1919, which was the second year that it was held on Christmas Eve at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. This was when the standard set of lessons was established, although alternatives for some of them have been introduced since then.
The idea of the set of lessons is to tellthe Christmas story within the context of both the Old and New Testaments, based on the Christian theology that Jesus Christ was the eternal Son Of God, having an earthly life to repair the damage done by the Fall of Man as described in the first chapters of Genesis.
The first lesson is therefore part of the story of the Fall, from Genesis Chapter 3. It begins after Adam has eaten the forbidden fruit and become aware of his nakedness. God calls to him and asks if he has broken the commandment he was given not to eat the fruit (traditionally assumed to be an apple, but this is never stated). He blames Eve, who in turn blames the serpent. God duly curses the serpent, although in this reading that is far as it goes. The congregation are assumed to know that the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden is what happens next.
The second lesson is only a few lines from Genesis Chapter 22, in which God rewards Abraham for his obedience in being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham is promised that his descendants will be multiplied “as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore”. The contrast with the first lesson is clear enough, in that obedience brings rewards whereas disobedience does not, and there is also a connection with what follows in that Abraham’s willing sacrifice is the precursor to the sacrifice of Jesus at the Crucifixion.
The third lesson is the wonderfully poetic passage in Isaiah Chapter 9 that foretells the coming of the Messiah as a child who will have the names: “Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” and will establish his kingdom “with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever”.
The standard fourth lesson is also from Isaiah, being the passage in Chapter 11 that describes the world under the rule of the Messiah in which “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb”, etc, and ending with the declaration that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”. Even to a non-believer, these passages from Isaiah are beautifully written and are every bit as musical as the carols that surround them.
An alternative lesson is offered in the shape of the passage from Micah Chapter 5 that mentions Bethlehem as the future birthplace of the Messiah.
For the fifth lesson, there is a choice between the Annunciation to Mary, by the Angel Gabriel, of the fact that she is to be the mother of Christ, and another piece of superb poetry from Isaiah. It seems a shame that one cannot have both (although this is sometimes done).
The Annunciation is from St Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 1, and consists mainly of the speech by Gabriel that links the birth of Jesus, who is given that name at this juncture, to the earlier passage from Isaiah Chapter 9, in that “he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end”.
The alternative lesson from Isaiah Chapter 60 is the passage that begins: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee”. This lesson includes the prophecy that links to St Matthew’s story of “wise men from the east”, in that it talks about a future glorious kingdom to which all men will be attracted, some of whom “shall bring gold and incense”.
For the sixth lesson there is again an alternative on offer, as between the Annunciation to Joseph and the story of the journey to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus, as given in St Luke Chapter 2.
In St Matthew’s account there is no Annunciation to Mary, and no mention of a journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Instead, it is made clear that Mary’s pregnancy is a miraculous one and Joseph is instructed not to “put her away privily” but to marry her as he had originally intended.
The St Matthew lesson breaks off before the birth of Jesus is mentioned, and it would seem strange to select this reading in preference to that from St Luke and thus omit the actual event that the whole Festival is celebrating. It might also be thought unnecessary to include both Annunciations by reading the first alternatives for both the fifth and sixth lessons. However, the opportunity is there should that be the wish of the person in charge of the Service.
The St Luke passage is the basis of the familiar Nativity Play story of Mary and Joseph being forced to journey to Bethlehem thanks to “a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed”. It is only St Luke who talks about mangers and “no room for them at the inn”, but a whole industry of art production down the centuries has hung on these few words!
The seventh lesson, for which no alternative is offered, is the story of the adoration of the shepherds, as told in St Luke Chapter 2. The words of this lesson follow on directly from those of the alternative sixth lesson.
The eighth lesson returns to St Matthew for the story of the “wise men from the east” in Chapter 2.
The ninth and final lesson is given with the congregation standing. It comes from St John Chapter 1 and is the highly effective passage that sums up everything that has gone before, by explaining that “In the beginning was the Word” and the Nativity was the process by which “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”.
These lessons have been carefully selected to summarise the most important elements of the Christian religion as well as to tell a story. As mentioned above, the choice made between the alternatives needs to be handled with care, because it is not easy to give the complete picture in just nine lessons. Although the religious message is paramount, these lessons contain some of the most beautiful language ever committed to paper, as long as they are read from the 1611 King James translation and not any later version. As such, even a non-believer should be able to gain a considerable amount of satisfaction just from hearing the words read aloud, especially in an environment such as King’s College Chapel and when interspersed with the music of carols both familiar and less well known.
