Isaiah 60:1-6.                      The Light goes on!!                                                         10/1/16

1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 

3 Nations 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 arm. 

5 Then 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. 

6 Herds 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. 

Here again we are reminded that Christmas goes on and on. The Light that was spoken of at Christmas time we are reminded here goes on and continues to impact on our lives and our world. This Light draws the crowd that in the end will truly rejoice and be glad.

Now light is good and important: basic to our existence. Without it we would cease to exist. We know that in the physical sense and also psychological and spiritual sense as well. We talk about the light at the end of the tunnel. You light up my life. Or he is in a dark space at this time. And in many other ways which indicate the importance of having life, light, and hope, meaning and purpose, and more.

So as we think of light in this second sense we can see something of what God is saying to us in this reading when he says: See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples. For many today life is dark: Outwardly they are portraying happiness and success. Yet often this masks deep loneliness, hurt and despair. To cover this they turn to drugs, alcohol, sex and other addictions. Or in their futility they commit suicide. Deep darkness covers their lives.

To add further to this we are trying to convince ourselves that we are simply products of a random evolutionary process. We are descendants of monkeys that have evolved a little further up the chain, but in the end are destined for death and nothing. Survival of the fittest and strongest, living for here and now and little more; but in the end going nowhere until this world turns again to nothing. Thick darkness is over the peoples.

To add further insult to this we are peddling the idea that life is all about I, me and myself and my wants and desires, with the idea that there we will find happiness and fulfilment. The more we are living in a global village with this emphasis on me the lonelier we become. The less we live as community where we look out for one another the worse this becomes. The darkness gets even darker.

Then most serious of all, we take God out of the picture and there is no meaning and purpose and no good directions for living: we are left to our individual ideas and whims. Or when we do talk of God we seek to make him a figment of what we want him to be, and then wonder why he is no longer relevant to our lives, so darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples.

However, thankfully God does not leave us in this mess that we have made for ourselves. He sends light into our darkness. Through Jesus and his life, death and resurrection a light now shines in our darkened world. In and through him there is life and hope, meaning and purpose. In connection with him there is no loneliness and futility.

This light is no light at the end of the tunnel: a glimmer of light in the far distance of our lives. It is right here in the midst of our lives. This is no 100watt globe in the middle of the vast expanse of the Adelaide oval. Here is a light that shine bright, for all the world to see. And it is a light that will never go out.

Through this reading here God tells us that people the world over will come to this light and their lives will be changed forever. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy.

On looking at this reading in preparation for this address, the image came to mind of moths around a light on a pleasant summer’s night. Camped out in the country with a camp light in a dark night; It not unusual to see moths and insects coming from all directions. Great swarms of them are drawn to the light for whatever reason. This is amazing to see, even if it is real nuisance to the campers.

But in the city this image is not so readily seen, for there is so much artificial light shining all over the place and it does not have the same affect. The distraction are aplenty. In this there are some great lessons for us with regard to the Light of Christ.

Now the world over, people are being drawn to the light of Jesus Christ in the droves. In other nations people are flocking to Christ in the millions. During the week I read an article that was saying that Muslims in Europe are being led by God to the faith in the hundreds, despite many church leaders not wanting their churches to seek to convert them. In dreams God was leading them to specific Churches that were strong on the truth of God’s Word and the centrality of Christ crucified.

Unfortunately in countries like our own we have by and large lost this strong focus on the truth and Christ on the cross. So we are not seeing the same attraction to Christianity. There are too many distractions that are making it hard for people to see that which can help them in their darkness. The light of Christ and him crucified is not being held up high. At same time other aspects of the faith are held up as important and focussed on, to the detriment of the Faith. Many therefore see Christianity as simply being about living as ‘good’ people.

At the same time many in the darkness, are not wanting to come to the light, because it exposes their selfish idolatries which they are not prepared to give up. They would much rather continue living in their darkness than having to take God and his truths seriously.

Nevertheless the light is there and again it is drawing people to its light. This prophecy was given way back in the Old Testament times and pointed people to the light that was coming into the world, Jesus Christ.  The captives in Babylon were longing to return to Jerusalem where they could again establish themselves as God’s people through whom the Messiah would come to save and establish God’s Kingdom.

The later part of this reading speaks of people coming from afar on camels to worship the coming of this light into our world. In the Gospel reading we were reminded of the wise men coming from the east to worship Jesus in Bethlehem.  God used the star to draw these people to come to see this one who was to be the light of the world.

This Jesus came from God, grew up here on earth for the express purpose of dying on the cross so that forgiveness of sins might be extended to each and every one of us. He did this so that each and every one of us can know for sure that we are loved and accepted by God himself. Jesus took the punishment that we deserve on himself, so that we would be accepted by God himself.

Then he rose again from the dead so that we can be sure that he is for real and that God is for real. He there wants to assure us that not only was his death important for us and our future but that in connection with him we now can have the certainty of eternal life in heaven with the very best of everything.

In this we are reminded then that life is not just a matter of evolutionary chance, but that it is a creation of God, intended for his and our wellbeing and good. In that we then find that there is meaning and a purpose to our lives; both here, while we are on earth and in heaven as well. In him and his Word we also find directions for living that are good and helpful for all. Here we are called to love others as Christ has loved us. We are called to and will want to give glory to him who has created us, and saved from the mess we have made for ourselves, and who is now ever seeking to do what is good for us and for our eternal wellbeing.

Because he has saved us, and given us a sure hope of life eternal with God we can go forward boldly and confidently. The LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. No matter whether we have much or little, a comfortable life or much trouble and heartache, God is there with us. He is with to use whatever is happening for good, even if it may not seem so at the time. Look at Jesus on the cross and there see how God uses something tragic for good. Above all we can hold on to his assurance that in connection with him, nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God.

So to us here, "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 arm. Sure in this country we cannot see the swarms of people being drawn to Christ, but it is happening in our world even today. God is true to his Word, and all who do come to him will be truly blest.

With that assurance we too will look and be radiant, our heart will throb and swell with joy. The Light has come, and given a sure, certain and true light for us to see our way through this life, and into the next. In him we have something we can rely on in the midst of the darkness of our world around us. So Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish