The hymn I chose for today from Sing Praise is ‘Longing for light, we wait in darkness’ by Bernadette Farrell. Although included in the Advent section of the book, It isn’t specifically an Advent hymn in the way that ‘O Come, Emmanuel’ is for instance, or ‘Lo he comes’. It’s one that I have sung or heard at any time of year, as its theme is the things that people long for, of which light is only one example. As I mentioned in the blog for 7 April, it is a variation of Farrell’s Easter Eve hymn ‘This is the night of new beginnings’. But it is appropriate for the start of Advent, perhaps especially this year as yesterday was also the start of Hannukah, the Jewish festival of light.
What, then, do we long for? The first four verses each list some of the longings that people share, in our own families or around the world. For light and truth; for peace and hope, for food and water, for shelter and warmth. To each there is a response as we ask Christ to make us, his Church, a light for others. ‘Light for the world to see’, ‘Your living voice’, ‘Bread broken for others’, ‘Your building, sheltering others’. Finally we ask that we be ‘servants to one another, making your Kingdom come’.
The chorus after each verse is “Christ be our light, shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness. Christ be our light, shine in your church gathered today”. This is another reminder that we are part of a larger whole, the worldwide Church. This is another aspect of Advent: seeing the needs of the world around, and not just praying that God will do something about it but that we his people may be part of the solution.
As I said in the comment for 7th April, I find this hymn more persuasive than “This is the night of new beginnings”, and I enjoyed singing it again.