Lift up your heads, O ye gates

by the Revd Dr William Lamb

One of the familiar refrains for the season of Advent comes from Psalm 24.7:

Lift up your heads, O ye gates, be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors: and the King of glory shall come in. 

This Psalm’s origins are shrouded in mystery - and scholars argue whether these words refer originally to some kind of liturgical procession when the ark of the covenant was carried in procession into the Temple in Jerusalem, or a return of the ark after a battle. The ark symbolises God’s presence; in victory, the return of the ark symbolises the return of God to his people. ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates’ may refer to some sort of gate with a portcullis where the barrier needed to be lifted in order for the gates to be opened. Writing on this psalm, St Augustine wrote: ‘Away with your gates, you princes!: whoever you are who seek pride of place in human affairs, get rid of the barriers of greed and feat you have put up, that they may not block the way. But you, everlasting gates, lift yourselves up! You gates to eternal life, gates of renunciation of this world and conversion to God, open up, and the King of glory will enter. The King will make his entrance; let us boast of him without fear of pride, for he overthrew the gates of mortality and flung open before him the gates of heaven...'  One can see the resonances with the season of Advent as we ponder the themes of judgement and hope. In the face of death and mortality, we contemplate the gates of heaven and the hope of eternal life.

These last few weeks of lockdown have been hard and difficult for many of us. We have had to dig deep - but remember that Advent is a season of hope. And it is perhaps fitting that during this season of Advent, we should fling wide the gates of St Mary’s again. Public worship will resume on Sunday 6 December with an 8.30am Eucharist, 10.30am Sung Eucharist, and a 6.00pm Carols by Candlelight. This Carol Service will be repeated on successive Sundays (in an almost identical format) so that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to attend a Carol Service during this season of Advent. People will need to register for these services and in order to ensure that regular members of the congregation can book a place at the Carol Service, we are releasing tickets via this newsletter before the tickets are released more generally next week. Please make sure that you book early to avoid disappointment. Registration for Christmas Services will be possible from Sunday 13 December. Again, please make sure that you book early to avoid disappointment. We look forward to opening the gates and welcoming you back to the University Church. It will be wonderful to see you again.