Hymn Blog - January 15, 2012

January 15, 2012

VU 87 – I Am the Light of the World. In his Epiphany hymn, “I Am the Light of the World,” Californian hymn writer and composer Jim Strathdee uses Jesus’ words from John 8:12 to introduce a vision of what following Jesus means. Based on a poem by African-American author Howard Thurman, the text moves the singer out of the Christmas story and into the work of being Christian: finding the lost, healing the afflicted, feeding the hungry, and all the other duties that full humanity revealed in Jesus demands. There is an interesting development in thought that occurs in the middle of stanza 3. Up to this point, Strathdee is simply listing obligations. In the latter half of stanza 3 and in stanza 4, he begins to show us ways to facilitate the tasks: we need to have strength, through good will; we need to see all our fellows as God’s children; we need to hope and to celebrate. What might have become a very heavy yoke to bear becomes a discipline incorporating hope and joy.

MV 96 – And When You Call for Me. This simple text of assurance is by American Lynn Bauman, with a setting by Linnea Good. Linnea is a singer-songwriter, musical animator and educator whose life's work is to help people celebrate their lives - especially through music. Her base is her Canadian culture, community and Christian faith tradition. Linnea travels extensively, seeking connections between the new and the old, the head and the heart, between male and female, children and adults, between those who pray and those who act.

VU 862 – You Are before Me, God. This paraphrase of Psalm 139, our Psalm lection for today, was written by Ian Pitt-Watson when he was professor of practical theology at Christ’s College, University of Aberdeen. The text, based on the New English Bible  translation of the psalm, was written for Church Hymnary, Third Edition (1973). He revised the text extensively in 1989, and it is the revised version that we sing. Pitt-Wilson later taught preaching and pastoral theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. The tune, SURSUM CORDA, was composed by American Episcopal priest Alfred Morton Smith as a setting for H. Montagu Butler’s “Lift Up Your Hearts” for The Hymnal (1940).

VU 96 – Will You Come and See the Light. Author Brian Wren, born in England and ordained in the Congregational Church, now lives in the United States with partner Rev. Susan Heafield, a United Methodist Pastor and composer. In this text he calls upon his experience working for Third World aid and development projects. The setting is the Scottish folk tune KELVINGROVE, arranged by Valerie Ruddle, a British music teacher, composer and author.