Arise, shine ...

Meditate with me on the word of the Lord:

Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.

To whom does Isaiah speak these imperatives? To the king of Israel? To the coming King of kings? No, Isaiah speaks these words to the people of God, to the Israel that will be when the King of kings has come. In those days, spiritual darkness will cover the face of the known cosmos like physical darkness did at the very beginning of time. In that day, the Lord will speak, “Arise, shine,” to the people of God, and the glory of God within them will begin to illumine the world.

The move of God that started as a solitary star in the dark night of the heavens is now working on this planet among us. Sometimes when we speak of our service as the light of the world, we talk as if we reflect the light of God from a distance. We speak as if we were the moon reflecting the light of the sun onto the dark side of the earth. Even in our children’s songs, we speak of our little light as if it were something separate from us – something we might wave or hide. For Isaiah, though, the light of the people of God is not reflected. The people of God shine. They illumine the world from within themselves because the glory of God lives within them, among them. They shine as a community, much more so than as individuals.

Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.

At first the light will shine from within a chosen people. Then the light will arise among a people newly chosen to expand the borders of the people of God. The attracting light, though, is intended to draw in all people, women and men, near and far. This new people of God must do that which the original people of God were intended to do: serve as the light drawing the entire world into a relationship with God.

The light makes direction and movement possible. Where do you go in the dark? Is it better to move in the pitch black, or to stand still? Our experience tells us to look for the light, to move toward the light, to function in the light, where there is safety and where we can see what we are doing. Where we can see what everyone else is doing. Moths are not alone in their attraction to light, after all.

Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

In the light, there is more than blind faith – there is sighted experience. Within this community of light, we experience both relationship with God and providence from God. We become a part of a people for whom God provides, even from the very corners of the earth. I think God does this because God intends for us to be a people who exist at every corner of the earth. The wise men have brought their gifts to the king of this people. In reciprocal hospitality, this people go out to receive the hospitality of the far places of the earth while carrying the gift that God gives in return: peace, the restoration of relationship with the Creator of light in person.

May you rise and shine in your corner of the world today.

Ron

The exact imprint ...

Hear the word of the Lord:

Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors
in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,
whom he appointed heir of all things,
through whom he also created the worlds.

He is the reflection of God's glory
and the exact imprint of God's very being,
and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
When he had made purification for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
having become as much superior to angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Now God did not subject the coming world,
about which we are speaking, to angels.
But someone has testified somewhere,
"What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
or mortals, that you care for them?
You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned them with glory and honor,
subjecting all things under their feet."

Now in subjecting all things to them,
God left nothing outside their control.
As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,
but we do see Jesus,
who for a little while was made lower than the angels,
now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death,
so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

It was fitting that God,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the pioneer of their salvation
perfect through sufferings.

For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified
all have one Father.
For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."