My Favourite Advent Hymn

Tomorrow Christ is coming as yesterday he came;
a child is born this moment- we do not know its name.
The world is full of darkness, again there is no room;
the symbols of existence are stable, cross and tomb.

Tomorrow will be Christmas, the feast of love divine,
but for the nameless millions the star will never shine.
Still is the census taken with people on the move;
new infants born in stables are crying out for love.

There will be no tomorrows for many a baby born.
Good Friday falls on Christmas when life is sown as corn.
But Jesus Christ is risen and comes again in bread
to still our deepest hunger and raise us from the dead.

Our God becomes incarnate in every human birth.
Created in God's image, we must make peace on earth.
God will fulfil Love's purpose and this shall be the sign:
we shall find Christ among us as woman, child or man.
--Fred Kaan (born 1929) © 1968 Stainer & Bell Ltd

I have had a fondness for this hymn since I was a child. It is best set to a tune in a minor key, that highlights it's somberness. I like the reality of the words, the way it reminds us that Christ comes again and again into a broken, hurting world. BUt still it ends with hope. FOr the Incarnation's hope is best seen when we turn away from the self-serving "it will all be alright" and look seriously at the reality of the world. Only when we know the meaning of darkness and shadow do we appreciate the gift and power of light.

May we all know the coming of light into the world!