6 January Epiphany

Sacred gifts of mystic meaning:
incense shows that God has come,
gold proclaims him king of nations,
myrrh foretells his saving tomb.
Epiphany Carol

Is it gold that you bring?
Is that your present for the king?
Is that your special offering?
But far more precious than the gold
So often we have heard it told
Is our beloved blue-green world
Oh bring me a present for the future.

Is it frankincense you bring?
Is that your present for the king?
Is that your special offering?
However fair the frankincense
Its perfume warming to our sense
Our planet’s need remains immense
Oh bring me a present for the future.

Is it myrrh that you bring?
Is that your present for the king?
Is that your special offering?
If only could those drops of myrrh
A sense of longing in us stir
To make Earth’s blessings as they were
Oh bring me a present for the future.

Words: Joanna Forbes L’estrange
Music: Alexander L’Estrange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yuvpYo0v1c
(Faber Music)

A Song of the New Jerusalem (Epiphany)

1 Arise, shine out, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord is rising upon you.

2 Though night still covers the earth,
and darkness the peoples;

3 Above you the Holy One arises,
and above you God’s glory appears.

4 The nations will come to your light,
and kings to your dawning brightness.

5 Your gates will lie open continually,
shut neither by day nor by night.

6 The sound of violence shall be heard no longer in your land,
or ruin and devastation within your borders.

7 You will call your walls, Salvation,
and your gates, Praise.

8 No more will the sun give you daylight,
nor moonlight shine upon you;

9 But the Lord will be your everlasting light,
your God will be your splendour.

10 For you shall be called the city of God,
the dwelling of the Holy One of Israel.                        Isaiah 60.1–3,11a,18,19,14b