In days of old your star that shone

In days of old your star that shone 

            Led seekers to the holy place

Where God the Son in human flesh

            Was sheltered in a lowly space.

With great rejoicing they gave gifts

            Of frankincense and myrrh and gold,

Then traveled back to distant homes

            To ponder what they did behold.

When light you give shows us great joy,

            Our hearts are drawn to sing your praise.

We glorify your holy name

            And seek to love you all our days.

But there are days your light will show

            The truths we long to never see:

The roiling violence, rage, and hate

            That we insist just cannot be.

 

We hide our eyes, as best we can,

            From seeing what we have become:

A fearful tribe that will not name 

            The sin to which we now are numb. 

The hates of gender, race, and clan

            We try to claim aren’t really there

Are rendered clear when you command 

            That we oppose them everywhere.

 

So shine your star, unfailing Light,

            On hatreds we seek to avoid,

Lest all our witness to your love

            Be rendered false and then destroyed.

Annul our fear and charge us now

            To name such hate as cruel sin;

And then at last as we speak out,

            Refine our souls with fire within.

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, 6 January 2021

MUSIC: Suggested tune ST. PATRICK, Irish melody, arr. Charles Villiers Stanford, 1902; alternate tune YE BANKS AND BRAES, Scottish melody, arr. John L. Bell, 1989, copyright 1989 WGRG Iona Community (admin. GIA Publications, Inc.), hence not reproduced here.

I have always (or at least since hymn writing became a thing for me) wanted to write an Epiphany hymn. This wasn’t the circumstance I was seeking for doing so.