Seek the Light
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 60: 1 - 6 (NIV)
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. 5Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 6Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.
Message: Seek the Light
Arise and Shine
Throughout Advent this year, we have been reading from the prophet Isaiah
We have heard how the prophesies of Isaiah was quoted often when the story of the birth of Jesus was told
Even today’s Scripture reading is connected to the Magi visiting Jesus to honour the new King with gifts, after saw his light in the sky in the form of a star
The Bible book of Isaiah is divided up in three sections, all connected to the big exile to Babylon:
The first part is called proto-Isaiah (chapters 1 - 39), and it includes all the prophecies relating to the time before the exile… it talks about God’s people losing their way and about hope after the judgement that comes with the exile…
The second part is called deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40 - 55), which includes prophecies for the time of exile… it describes the hope of God saving them from exile and God intervening in their sorrow to bring them back to something new - a new life in a restored Jerusalem and restored Zion and restored temple
And the third part is called trito-Isaiah (chapters 56 - 66), which is the propecies for the time after their return back from exile… here the focus is on building the new community; emphasis on true worship, social justice, and righteousness; visions of a renewed Zion and God's everlasting light for His people
As we move into a new year, our Scritpure reading is from trito-Isaiah
The message to us today comes in the context of building new community, reflecting on the value of true worship, our involvement in the issues of the community where we are, and on being a beacon of light
We are called, with the turn of the calendar into a new year, to take these themes of building seriously
Today’s reading starts with the words: “Arise and shine”
Indeed, as we go forward into a new year, we are called to get up and be counted
Darkness covers the earth
True to the nature of a prophecy, the need for our call to action is explained
In verse 2 we read: “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples”
There is a lot of darkness in this world…
There is war and hunger for power and greed and hate as forces of darkness in this world
We see darkness in our community…
People struggle with healthy relationships because they are selfish
People are overcome with loneliness and a feeling that no-one cares for them
People experience depression and get stuck in a hole of darkness
People are exploited by the greed of others
People lose hope as they worry about the future
People are so focused on material needs that they forget their spiritual needs and they lose the balance of body, mind and spirt in their lives
The darkness the prophet is describing is not just out there, far away from us on the news… it is here among us… in our community and in our homes
Light will attract
In the circumstances of darkness the prophecy comes: “but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you”
The healing presence of the Lord and the transforming glory of the Lord is described in the prophecy as the light that will take away the darkness
This light is out there and is available for all the people who struggle with the effects of darkness
And the prophet says that this light will attract people from all over to come out of their darkness into the light…
Entering into a new year, the prophet is reminding us about the light of the world that is out there shining onto the darkness of our world
We are called to seek this light…
Lift up your eyes and look about you
But this call to seek the light is not just an individual, personal call…
It is also a collective call
When we lift up our eyes and look around us, we will discover that we are part of a community who seeks the light together, side by side
This call to seek the light is also a call to come together in doing so…
Part of seeking the light is also seeking the togetherness of light coming together
The prophecy speaks about assembling from all over
It is not just about seeking light as individuals, but about the collective power of coming together in seeking the light… together we seek better… together we find more of this light…
Let’s open our eyes for those around us and let’s look around for others who is also seeking the same light we are…
Magi - seeking the Light
This prophecy also references the bringing of gifts to praise the Lord
Part of seeking the light is the action of bringing gifts to praise the Lord
The Magi were a group of wise men from the east who saught the light but who also came to bring their gifts - they were not just three wise men - they were a collective seeking together
The image of the three wise men around the manger is also not perfectly accurate, as many scholars think that the Magi came months, up to two years, after Jesus was born
With the emphasis not so much on the event of the birth of Jesus, but on the light of God coming into this world
Their journey was not one of rushing to be in Bethlehem on time for the big occasion, but about seeking the light together and honouring the King of the new world with the gifts they bring
New year of seeking the light
Going into this new year, may our journey of seeking the light go beyond the season of Christmas
We need the light of Jesus in this world
We need his light to shine in our lives so that the darkness will not overcome us
We need to come together when we seek his light, for together his light is amplified in our lives
We need to bring our gifts to honour the King of our lives, for in bringing our gifts we will find the light and have joy
Therefore, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you! Amen.
Comments
Add your comment