Sermon for Kings College Chapel, 14 June 2015

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Brianna Stevenson
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1 Sermon for Kings College Chapel, 14 June 2015 King s Divines: Eric Milner-White The Revd Dr Stephen Cherry Dean Cambridge exists to exercise leadership in the purely intellectual sphere. It does not seem to be unreasonable ambition that King s Chapel should seek to do this in its own religious sphere; the teaching that might issue from its services would not be less influential than that which issues from its lecture rooms. When Eric Milner-White wrote these words in 1916 he was, you might say, living in two worlds that were competing for his attention and his affection. The first was that of the World War in which he was then serving as an army chaplain. It is a great sadness that at some point in the 1920s he destroyed all his war-time papers, so we don t really know what he experienced or what his reflections were at the time. Speculation as to why he destroyed them would of course be mere speculation. A recent book speaks of clergy like Milner- White, who served as First World War Padres and later moved on to positons of influence in their ministry as Shellshocked Prophets. And we can I suspect barely imagine the impact of the noise, suffering and human loss and trauma of trench warfare on the men who were there not to bear arms but to minister to their fellows. But if this was Milner-White s primary reality between 1914 and 1918 he still lived in imagination and affection in the world of this College, where he had been an undergraduate and where he had already served as Chaplain. That is why he wrote to the then Provost, M.R. James with his vision for the future of the Chapel. Needless to say his ideas at that time were still unformed, and any reader of his paper today will find much of his thought unconvincing, but they would resonate with the liberalism that appreciated that it is better not to force undergraduates to attend Chapel, and the fervour and sensitivity that meant that the experience of being here should be relevant and meaningful to those who did come. Not many of this detailed proposals in that letter came to fruition, which perhaps reminds us, that change and reform are not always best planned by someone sitting at a desk with a pen in their hand, but by the working out of important principles in the context of practical situations, where crises are to be managed, and opportunities taken, as they arise. And it was precisely on this basis that, on his return to College in 1918, he proposed that we host on Christmas Eve a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols along the lines of the revived medieval 1

2 service that Bishop Benson had tried in Truro. Benson s intention was to persuade the Cornish out of the pubs and into the new Cathedral or if not the Cathedral itself a large barn like structure adjacent to it. The rest, as they say, is history. But College life is never simple, and history is often ironic, and given the prominence that this service has given our choir its worth recalling that the then organist was not an enthusiast for this innovation and resisted it. The first Festival looks like a rather fussy service on paper, but I have often tried to imagine the atmosphere on that occasion, just six weeks after the armistice and four years before the BBC was founded. The doors of the College and its Chapel were open wide and the people of the city were welcomed in, it must have been crowded. But my mind s eye is drawn not to the mases, on this occasion, but to the top stalls, which would have been filled with Fellows and other College members - all men, of course, and all wearing white surplices. And they would all have been living in two worlds too. The actual world of the College and the Chapel as it was that afternoon, and also the world of sadness, and loss as they remembered and recalled those who were not there, and the very many who would never come back. King s lost a devastating 23% of its membership in the war, and Milner-White s roommate was one of the very many slain. You can see the great long list in the Memorial Chapel, which is one of several of Milner White s contributions to the Chapel fabric. He himself gave some of the glass in memory of that roommate, Gerald FitzGerald. But that Chapel is not about the glass it is about this list. Orderly and dignified it is, it was of course compiled and inscribed much later. At the time of the first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols there must still have been confusion about who had and hadn t been killed. And this is what I find reference to in those famous words that conclude the bidding prayer that Milner-White wrote, presumably with tears in his eyes. Lastly, let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore, and in a greater light, that multitude which no man can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom in the Lord Jesus we are for ever one. In later life Milner-White managed to become quite wealthy his friend Maynard Keynes helping him to invest his savings profitably - and he was a strong patron of the arts. As a priest his gifts were probably more aesthetic than theological, and he had a great impact on this Chapel and on York Minster, where he was Dean for the second half of his ministerial career. He remained a Fellow here, however, returning for Governing Body meetings right to the end of his life. I get the impression from reading about him that as time went by he became perhaps a bit more confident of his own judgements than might always have been appropriate, or if not appropriate then polite. He dismissed one set of plans to renovate a 2

3 particular side-chapel by writing just the one word, ridiculous, on the envelope containing the proposal. Not all his plans and improvements lasted, of course, and there is one particularly ironic one to which I must refer today. The pulpit in which I am standing had been in this Chapel for 200 years until Milner-White decided to give it away. We can only speculate as to why he felt there was no need for such a thing. Nonetheless, he definitely dispensed with it. However, when the Church to which it was given was being re-ordered so it was offered back to the College, and the Dean at that time decided that a pulpit was just what the Chapel needed. Although he had very many friends, and found it easy to influence people and persuade them to do things, Milner-White was a shy man. He was I gather very popular as a teacher at the Choir School, Deans being great multi-taskers in those days, a former Archbishop of Canterbury being among his pupils. And every summer he ran a camp for the boys. In conclusion, let me return to that quote with which I began. Milner-White imagined that the teaching that might issue from its [this Chapel s] services would not be less influential than that which issues from its [the University s] lecture rooms. But notice that he said something careful and precise here. He believed that the teaching would issue from the services, implicitly but emphatically not from the pulpit; indeed he was probably already scheming to get it removed His point and belief was that it was worship as a whole that educated, informed, and transformed people. And it is for this particular insight that I would like to remember him as a King s Divine. It is a point all but lost over the last 50 years, where the desire to instruct, coupled with anxiety about the future, has made the Church far more didactic than it needs to be, or that it should be if it wants to be attractive to the many and to nourish whole but wounded people spiritually. Milner-White wrote and published many prayers. We still use some of them today and I feel sure that they will be among the fragments of twentieth century spiritual writing that will one day be shown to have stood the test of time. Indeed, making a connection with last Sunday s sermon, I should perhaps make a plea that an aspiring composer takes a look at his work and considers whether any of it might make a good anthem, motet or introit. In any case, I will use some in the intercessions; and I conclude this sermon with one of his prayers of Eucharistic devotion. 3

4 Lord, this is thy feast, Prepared by thy longing, spread by thy command, attended at thine invitation, blessed by thine own Word, distributed by thine own hand, the undying memorial of thy sacrifice upon the cross, the full gift of thine everlasting love, and its perpetuation till time shall end. Lord, this is Bread of heaven, Bread of life, that whoso eateth never shall hunger more. And this the Cup of pardon, healing, gladness, strength, That, whoso drinketh, thirsteth not again. So may we come, O Lord, to thy Table; Lord Jesus, come to us. 4

5 Prayer of the Church Prayers of Eric Milner-White will be used after various biddings, as follows. Hear us as we give thanks for the wonder of this world and the promise of glory to come: We magnify thee, O Lord, we bless the excellency of thy name in the great works of thy hands, the manifold vestures of earth and sky and sea, the courses of the stars and light, the songs of birds, the hues of flowers, the frame and attributes of everything that hath breath, and, upholding all, thy wisdom, marvellous worthy to be praised; but most, that by thy sure promise we now do only taste the glory that shall be revealed, when thou, O God, wilt take the power and reign, world without end. Hear us as we pray for the grace to live well with others. Lord Jesus, make us this day courteous, considerate and kind one towards another, after thine example towards all; for thy Name s sake. Hear us as we remember all those who suffer this day, and as we pray that we might bear our own suffering boldly. O Christ who by the thorns pressed upon they head hast drawn the thorns from the sorrows of this world, and given us a crown of joy and peace: Make us so bold as never to fear suffering, nor to suffer without cheerfulness in thy service; to the glory of thy holy Name. Hear us as we pray for the wisdom to seek to grow in faith. Suffer me never to think that I have knowledge enough to need no teaching, wisdom enough to need no correction, talents enough to need no grace, goodness enough to need no progress, humility enough to need no repentance, devotion enough to need no quickening, strength sufficient without thy Spirit; lest, standing still, I fall back for evermore. Hear us as we remember all who have gone before us in the faith. Grant, O Lord, that in the communion of saints, we may become true companions of them that have loved thee in this life, and with them keep thy commandments unto the end; though Jesus Christ our Lord. 5

A Service of Holy Communion

St John The Baptist, Hey A Service of Holy Communion A Form of Preparation The service starts on page 3 It is important that we prepare ourselves for worship by stilling our minds. Please allow others