Light in Darkness
Ps. 72; Isa. 60; Matt 2:1-12[1]
We have just completed a season of
waiting and preparing ourselves for the coming of God's light into the
world. Some might wonder why all the
fuss. For them, the world is already a
place full of light and joy, full of all they could ever want or
desire--family, career, success, prestige.
But for many people in our world--in our own communities and
neighborhoods, their experience of life in this world is full of darkness. Theirs has been a life of grief and loss, a
life of broken dreams and shattered hopes, a life of failure and shame. It is the time of year when there is more
darkness than light during the day. But
the kind of darkness I’m talking about is a darkness that does not depend on
the season of the year or the time of day.
It is a darkness that can and does come at any time.
The world into which Jesus was
born was full of all kinds of this darkness.
Many lived out their lives as slaves of one kind or another. Many lived a kind of virtual slavery,
dependent for their daily bread on the arbitrary generosity of those who owned
the majority of the land. And the shadow
of the Roman Empire was cast over the whole Mediterranean world--a shadow cast
by ruthless conquerors who had no conscience about enforcing their will with
the edge of a sword and the point of a spear.
For many in Jesus’ day, there was no hope of anything better.
The Jewish people at least had a
hope to sustain them. The prophets
sustained that hope for generations. It
was the hope that God would bring light into the darkness. It was the hope that God would throw off the
yoke of every oppressor and set free all those who lived in unjust
captivity. It was the hope that God
would restore the people to the land where they could once again thrive by the
sweat of their own labor, eating the bread made from grain grown in their own
fields and fruit grown on trees in their own groves. When that happened, old
and young would live in safety, without fear of either famine or captivity.[2]
It was in Jesus that the early
Christians saw the fulfillment of these hopes.
They believed that Jesus would be the one to bring the light they longed
for. They believed Jesus was the one who
would “deliver the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper”
(Ps. 72:12).[3]
That is why today, the feast of Epiphany, is such an important day in the
Christian calendar. It is the day when
we commemorate the visit of the magi to the infant Jesus. That story was seen as a literal fulfillment
of the prediction that “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the
brightness of your dawn” (Isa. 60:3).
For the early Christians, the visit of the magi was another sign that
the light was dawning in the darkness.
But there is something more to the
visit of the magi. These men were all
pagans, they were heathen gentiles.[4] They had no connection with the Jewish
people, their prophets, their hopes or their Messiah. And yet, according to our Gospel lesson for
today, they come from afar to “pay homage” to Mary’s child (Matt. 2:11).[5] This is important, because from the very
beginning, Jesus is worshipped by shepherds and angels, by commoners and
royalty, and, perhaps more importantly, by Jews and Gentiles alike.[6] From the very beginning, the light that dawned
with the birth of Jesus was a light that shines for all people (Jn. 1:4).
This is one of the reasons why
Paul rejoiced so much in his gracious commission to bring to those in darkness
“the news of the boundless riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). Elsewhere Paul could
express the good news in this way: “The God who said, ‘Out of darkness the
light shall shine!’ is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to
bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ” (2 Cor.
4:6). His vision of the revealing of
God’s light was such that he looked forward to the day when every tongue would
confess “Jesus is Lord” to the glory of God (Phil. 2:10-11).[7]
Though we really don’t know much
what to make of the season of Epiphany, in a very real sense, everything about
our faith is a part of the celebration of Epiphany. Literally it means “revealing,” it is a
taking away of the veil that covers something.
Epiphany is about unveiling what Advent promises: that “all flesh shall
see the salvation of God” (Lk. 3:6); that “the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all people shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). During this time of year, we read stories
from Jesus’ life that show how Jesus revealed that he truly was the light that
was coming into the darkness.[8]
That’s why we celebrate Epiphany--it’s a time to remind ourselves that in him a
light has dawned that will never go out--a light of faith, and hope, and joy
that shines in all the kinds of darkness that can afflict this world.
[1] © 2012
Alan Brehm. A sermon preached by Rev.
Dr. Alan Brehm on 1/6/13.
[2] Cf., for
example, John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 34-66,
867-68, where he talks about the restoration envisioned in Isaiah 60. Cf. also Paul D. Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 218-221, where he describes the adverse conditions
that made it a challenge for the people to hold onto that hope.
[3] See. H.-
J. Kraus, Psalm 60-150, 81: “The
expectations of the prayer for blessing look forward to ‘God’s deliverer’ in
whom the ‘reign of God’ on earth, in the people of God and at the same time
among the nations, finds its fulfillment.” Cf. also James L. Mays, Psalms, 237: “Saving justice for the
helpless is the definitive mark of the reign of God, the sign of the one who
represents the lord of all the world.” Cf. differently, Marvin E. Tate, Psalm 51-100, 226.
[4] Douglas
R. A. Hare, Matthew, 13.
[5] Cf.
Donald Hagner, Matthew 1-13, 27, 31. Cf. also U. Luz, Matthew 1-7, 115, where although he earlier questions whether we
are to see the worship of the magi as a
fulfillment of Isa. 60:3, he recognizes that the christological interpretation
of the event as a sign that God is with us is prominent.
[6] cf. Luz,
Matthew 1-7, 115, where he also
points out that this is an important theme in this passage.
[7] cf.
Hare, Matthew, 13, where he says, “When
the visitors come into the presence of Mary’s child they do obeisance to him,
unwittingly anticipating that day when every knee shall bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11).”
[8] This is
a theme in Jürgen Moltmann’s theology.
He says that when the glory of God is revealed over all the earth, all
humankind and all creation will be drawn into “the life stream of the triune
God,” where they experience “boundless freedom, exuberant joy, and
inexhaustible love,” which is what God intended for creation in the first
place. See Jürgen Moltmann, The Trinity
and the Kingdom, 124, 126, 161, 178, 212, 222. Cf. also Jürgen Moltmann, God in Creation, 183-84; Jürgen Moltmann, In the End—The Beginning,
145.
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