Longing for the light

Every January, when January 6th finally marks the end of the Christmas season, I immediately miss the YouTube playlists that had been on loop for the past two weeks (James’s is characterized by Vince Guaraldi and Gene Autry, mine by King’s College and *NSYNC). I lament that December is the only month of the year where a large portion of the population gathers around the shared love of a specific group of songs. Even Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas know the first verse of “Joy to the World,” or other secular Christmas classics like “Frosty the Snowman.” When my first child was about one year old I decided to make an Epiphany playlist for our long rides back and forth together to Norfolk. I was determined I could create a collection of songs that would become standard for our family, year after year, just like Christmas.

It didn’t pan out as successfully as I hoped. Turns out  “We Three Kings” is the only Epiphany hymn that has any decent recordings of it. No good recordings of “Brightest and Best” or… can you name any other “standard” Epiphany hymns off the top of your head? (Choir, you are not allowed to answer!)

Maybe it’s time to think outside the We-Three-Kings box if we want to have more Epiphany standards. We often think of Epiphany as just being about kings and stars, but the lectionary of the whole season encourages us to look for light in the dark. Where is God shining a light right now, and how can we be that light for others?
 
And so, I offer the best of my 2017 Epiphany Playlist for your reflection (or amusement?). You’ll be able to find all of these on YouTube or Apple Music. Who knows, maybe we’ll start a movement!
 
Shine, Jesus, Shine, recorded by The Faith Crew
This is already a well-known hymn and this recording will have you on your feet, ready to dance (and spread the light of Christ) in a flash.
 
Midnight Special
Refrain: Let the midnight special shine a light on me.
“Midnight Special” has its roots in the African American community in the post Civil War South. It became a national sensation in the 1960s by artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival. The Midnight Special is the name of a passenger train, and the song is about people (originally, African American men) facing injustice and wishing the train would pick them up and carry them to a better place.
 
Christ, Be Our Light, by Bernadette Farrell
“Christ, Be Our Light,” has been in several major denominational hymnals since it was published in 1993. I hope we’re next!
Verse one: Longing for light, we wait in darkness. Longing for truth, we turn to you. Make us your own, your holy people, light for the world to see.
 
This Little Light of Mine, recorded by Sam Cooke
Another hymn standard that should be an Epiphany staple. Sam Cooke was a Gospel singer-turned-pop-sensation, with billboard hits in the 50’s and 60’s you know. This recording will inspire us adults to think of this song as more than just a song from our Vacation Bible School days.
 
What have I missed? What songs about light made it onto your Epiphany playlist? Wherever you are–longing for light or ready to shine it–I wish you a blessed and holy Epiphany.
 
Ginny Chilton, Minister of Music