Compline Splendor

I recently came to recognize compline as one of the unex-
pected jewels of my time here in St. Andrews. It is one of
the little-known diamonds of this ancient university town.
Ever since I first arrived here in the fall of 2003, compline
has been a special part of my life as a divinity student. At-
tending the 10pm compline service every Thursday of term
at the little St. Leonard's Chapel became a weekly routine
that I rarely missed.


The ancient Christian order of compline is a quiet service of
reflection before rest at the end of the day. The word comes
from the Latin word for completion. The 25-minute service
is a rich blend of crying out to God and hearing God's prom-
ises through spoken and sung Scripture. It is composed of
an introit, several blessings, a confession of sin, a congrega-
tional hymn, a choral anthem, prayer for protection through
the night, a confession of faith, and a committal of one's self
into God's hands. It ends with three minutes of silence fol-
lowed by people leaving quietly. Compline is a time of rest
for me because I lay aside the busyness of my life and enter
into God's Story. I am reminded of the ways God has guided
me, provided for me, and protected me. I hear again of God's
unrelenting redeeming love that will never let me go. Com-
pline is my weekly anchorage in a haven of rest.


Last Thursday, the seventh of February, I looked forward
to crowning my birthday with compline. The simple chapel,
constructed around 1450, was lit by the glow of candles
placed around the interior walls. The stalls of seating hold
no more than sixty people and face one another across a cen-
tral aisle. There was a steady stream of students entering
and finding seats in the back section of the chapel. In the
stalls up front fifteen or so students decked out in their red
academic robes made up the choir. The organist, usually an
advanced student organist, was setting the mood for the ser-
vice. I felt like I was at home and I was content to wait for
the service to start.

It was just a few minutes until starting time when I noticed
that the appointed minister for the night had not arrived. I
also observed that the choir director and the university mu-
sic director were discussing something. Then they looked at
me. Before I could fret and bolt, the music director was in
front of me asking whether I would be so kind as to take
charge of compline. I gulped, said yes, and moved over to
the minister's seat. The choir director gave me a list of the
music that would be part of the service. Before I knew it,
the choir was singing the introit. I announced the choral
music and the hymn that we would soon be singing. And
then we were off in the majestic beauty of compline.

It is my fourth year of attending compline, so I was confi-
dent about what I needed to do. I have always desired to
lead compline, but I never expected that I would have the
opportunity to direct God's people in compline in such an
ancient place of prayer. I felt like a director who is charged
with bringing order to the interaction of a choir and chorus.
I used my voice to set mood and tempo, thus guiding the
people through the beautifully crafted liturgy. It gave me
great joy to do that! Before I knew it, we had entered into
the three minutes of silence. And then I left refreshed, ready
for my nightly rest.

Blessings to you and yours