Notes on the Notes – January 4, 2026

This week’s music:

“Arise, Your Light is Come” (VU #79)

“Arise, your light is come!
The Spirit’s call obey;
Show forth the glory of your God,
Which shines on you today.

Arise, your light is come!
All you in sorrow born,
Bind up the broken-hearted ones
And comfort those who mourn.

Arise, your light is come!
The mountains burst in song!
Rise up like eagles on the wing;
God’s power will make us strong.“

The lyrics for this hymn are inspired by words found in the book of Isaiah and written by Ruth Duck in 1974. The tune, FESTIVAL SONG was first published in 1872 in a hymn book for the Episcopal Church of the USA called Hymnal with Tunes Old and New.

Hear the hymn played on pipe organ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYoUpNC4FAE

Hear an acoustic guitar version of the tune at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W9UgtefhGo

“Joy, Joy, Joy” (VU #47 verse 3)

“Joy, joy, joy; glad tidings of great joy!
For through God’s holy incarnation Christ is born for our salvation.
Joy, joy, joy; glad tidings of great joy!”

“Still, Still, Still” is an Austrian Christmas carol and lullaby. The melody is a folk tune (authorship unknown) from the State of Salzburg. The tune appeared for the first time in 1865 in a folksong collection of Maria Vinzenz Süß (1802-1868), founder of the Salzburg Museum; it has changed slightly over the years but remains attributed to G. Götsch. This week we will be using the third verse of the carol as printed in Voices United as our response to the Words of Assurance.

“As With Gladness Men of Old” (VU #81)

“As with gladness men of old did the guiding star behold,
As with joy they hailed its light, leading onward, beaming bright,
So, most gracious Lord, may we evermore your splendour see.

As with joyful steps they sped, to that lowly manger bed,
There to bend the knee before Christ, whom heaven and earth adore;
So may we with eager pace ever seek your throne of grace.

As they offered gifts most rare at that manger crude and bare,
So may we with holy joy, pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to you, our heavenly King.

Holy Jesus, every day keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past, bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide, where no clouds your glory hide.

In the heavenly country bright none shall need created light;
You its light, its joy, its crown, you its sun which goes not down;
There forever may we sing hallelujah to our King.”

William Dix, an insurance adjuster and amateur hymn-writer, wrote this song in 1858 after hearing the Epiphany Gospel.  The text is based upon Matthew 2:9-11 and Dix first published it in his own collection called Hymns of Love and Joy.   W.H. Monk adapted the tune from a 19th-century German choral specifically for this text and published it in the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).

Sing along with the hymn at: As With Gladness

“A Light is Gleaming” (VU #82)

“A light is gleaming,
Spreading its arms throughout the night,
Living in the light.
Come share its gladness,
God’s radiant love is burning bright,
Living in the light.

When light comes pouring into the darkest place,
It hurts our eyes to see the glow.
Sometimes a word of hope reminds us of our fears,
Our memories and tears...

When night is round us and every shadow grows,
A star is there to light our way.
It tells a story of Jesus who came near to say:
“God’s light will ever stay.”…

And Jesus showed us a brighter path to walk.
He showed us things we hadn’t seen.
Now we, like Jesus, can help creation shine,
And this will be a sign:…

So let us live in the brightness God has giv’n,
And let us rise to see the dawn.
We trust that God is here a-sparkle and ablaze,
Warming all our days.

A light is gleaming,
Spreading its arms throughout the night,
Living in the light.
Come share its gladness,
God’s radiant love is burning bright,
Living in the light.“

The words of this beautiful song remind us that Jesus is the light and that, through following his way, we too can be a light in the world.  The song was first published in 1992 in Stickpeople, a collection of songs by the Canadian composer Linnea Good.

Sing along with composer Linnea Good at: https://youtu.be/R_OKm5MwMK8

“When Heaven’s Bright with Mystery” (VU #93 v 4)

“When heaven’s bright with mystery and stars still lead an unknown way,
When love still lights a gentle path where courts of power can hold no sway,
There with the Magi, let us kneel,
Our gifts to share, God’s world to heal.”

The words for this hymn were written by Rob Johns, a United Church minister in Winnipeg, as a submission for Voices United (1985).  We will be using the closing verse of the hymn as our offering response.

The words are set to THE SUSSEX CAROL, which is a folk tune that was collected in Sussex in 1904 and which is often referred to by it’s first line “On Christmas night all Christians sing.”

See the full hymn sung in worship at:  https://youtu.be/zgHPF9cL3MM

 “I am the Light of the World” (VU #87)

I am the light of the world!  You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love you’ll learn the mystery of what you were meant to do and be. 

When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and the shepherds have found their way home, the work of Christmas is begun…

To find the lost and lonely one, to heal the broken soul with love,
to feed the hungry children with warmth and good food, to feel the earth below, the sky above!…

To free the prisoner from all chains, to make the powerful care,
to rebuild the nations with strength of good will, to see God’s children everywhere!…

To bring hope to every task you do, to dance at a baby’s new birth,
to make music in an old person’s heart, and sing to the colours of the earth!…”

Jim Strathdee is an American composer and performer of religious music.  The text of this song is based on a Christmas poem by Howard Thurman, a prolific 20th-century writer, theologian, and teacher.  The song grew out of Strathdee’s music ministry at an intercultural, bilingual congregation in Los Angeles.  It was written in 1967.

Hear the hymn at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2raH2XxEqU

“O Radiant Christ, Incarnate Word” (VU #84 v.4)

O Light of Nations, fill the earth;
Our faith and hope and love renew.
Come, lead the peoples to your peace,
As stars once led the way to you.

We will be using the fourth verse of the hymn “O Radiant Christ, Incarnate Word” as our benediction response this week. The words were written by Ruth Duck (1991).