[Isaiah 60:1-2] “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you…”
Your Light Has Come
The effective distance of a signal mirror – if you’re lost on your mountain hike – can be upwards of twenty miles. Maybe more. The surface of the mirror reflects the light of the sun, shining out the brightness it receives.
But if you take away the light source, the mirror shines exactly -zero-. The mirror in your bedroom is as bright as the light that’s on and as dark as darkness when there is no light. A mirror is bright because it reflects light from another source.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come” – your Source of Light has arrived – “the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” You are mirrors. Dark with the darkness that surrounds you. Or light with the Brightness that shines on you.
Jesus is the Light: “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” – “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [John 1:4-5,9]
The people to whom the words of the prophet Isaiah in our Old Testament reading [Isaiah 60:1-6] were first spoken – the people of Israel – were darkened in the shadow of captivity. Chained and taken captive as a severe consequence for their sins.
To maintain their prosperity and place in this world, they went with the flow and sought the gods which were favorites of the greatest nations around them. Now, in God’s judgment, those nations would become their captors.
But the day would come when light would dawn again. Their Light would arrive. The nations would now come to them, bringing their wealth and gold and frankincense on camel back, to receive the Light reflecting in them.
“Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising… A multitude of camels shall cover you… They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.” [Isaiah 60:3-6]
These words of Isaiah were spoken around 700 BC, and, about 700 years later, they were fulfilled. Jesus Christ, the Light the World – the One who is Light and God with the Father in all eternity – was born of Mary in Bethlehem.
And, on the backs of camels for sure, came many Wise Men of the gentiles – of the nations – arriving from the east, bringing their gifts of gold and frankincense (and myrrh). And their arrival came with good news – “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” [Matthew 2:2]
Today we celebrate Epiphany, which means “a revealing” (a manifestation) – the Light of the world is first revealed to the nations when those Wise Men come from the nations to see Him.
Amazingly, these Wise Men, the Magi, coming from a far away nation, who wouldn’t even be expected to have any clue that there was a promised Savior coming to be born in Judea —
(though, if these Magi were from Babylon, they would have knowledge of the Scriptures from the prophet Daniel 600 years prior, who led the Magi during his time in Babylon [Daniel 2:48])
— these Wise Men are the first to declare to the ruler of Judea, King Herod, that the Savior has been born. This news then became very public: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” [Matthew 2:3]
King Herod, notorious for his violence and villainy, was king of the Jews. He was a dark cloud over the people. He is troubled to hear of another King of the Jews being born, and, as the people likely feared, his response eventually leads to more slaughter [Matthew 2:16].
But Jesus Christ is the Light that no darkness can overcome. Jesus is not a mirror. He does not need the world around Him to be light for Him to be Light. Jesus is the source of light.
Like a flashlight or a bulb – or like the sun – Jesus makes the dark room light, and His light reflects off those who are in it.
How do you handle light and darkness? Sometimes we find ourselves depending upon the world around us to become light so we can have light. Or we depend on the circumstances of our life to change so that we can have light.
When these remain dark, so do we. We are misplacing our faith.
Jesus is the light that lightens the darkness. From the dangers and darkness of the womb, to the shrieks and cries of His mother’s labor and His birth, to His life in this world – surrounded by the same darknesses of disease and loss and death as the rest of us – to rejection by His brothers and countrymen – to suffering under the hand of cruel rulers
– to carrying our sins in His body and soul on the cross – to suffering God’s judgment against our sins in our place – entering the complete darkness of being forsaken by God for our wrongs that He carried in Himself [Matthew 27:46] – to His last breath and entering the darkness of our death –
In every way, Jesus entered all the dark rooms of sin-fallen human existence – from the womb to the tomb – and shined His Light into every place.
Your light has come. In the troubles of child-bearing – in the hardships of being a child, which we shouldn’t underestimate – in sickness and in death (yours and that of others) – in the tossing and turnings of your conscience – in your terrors of conscience – and in your last hours and the day of judgment. And in the grave. Jesus, your Light, shines there.
Your light has come, and like turning on the sun in a closet, He lightens every bit of darkness. Now, in every circumstance – in your life or in the world – you have the Light of Life and His peace and joy. Peace in trouble. Joy in sorrow. Light in darkness.
He is the Sun. May you be the mirrors. That promise of the nations coming is the promise to His Church for the sake of those lost in a dark world.
As you, the members of His Church, are receiving Him, the reflection of His Light shining in you – even dimly – becomes a signal light for others. A reflected light showing them to come to the same source.
May His Light shine in us more brightly as we receive Him and lean on Him more and more consistently in times of difficulty and in our daily struggles. Amen.
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