Rev. Betsy Aldrich Garland
January 4, 2009
Isaiah 60:1-3, 6b; Matthew 2:1-12

Shining Light Into Dark Places

So, Christmas is over. We’ve brought the Christ Child into the world. We can put the decorations away and go back to life in ordinary time. Right? Well.... Let’s see.

What are some of our well-known first words – that capture the essence of something? How about, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...? Who wrote it? Charles Dickens (Tale of Two Cities). Who tapped out the historic message using the Biblical phrase from Numbers 23:23, “What hath God wrought?” (Samuel Morse on inventing the telegraph in an experimental line from Washington, DC, to Baltimore on May 24, 1844.) Who said, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”? Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969.

Here’s one for the Bible scholars: And what are God’s first words to us? In the beginning, the earth was formless and dark, nobu wobohu, in ancient Hebrew, and a wind swept over the face of the waters,
and God said, “Let there be light.”

To the ancient Hebrews, light was the manifestation of the divine operation in the world, a sign of God’s presence; apart from light there is only darkness and chaos. In fact, in the Hebrew Bible light was the essence of all gifts through which God blesses the world. Seeing the light was synonymous with being alive, with being born.

If you look for them, words about light are everywhere in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Did you hear the metaphor of light in the Isaiah passage, one of our lessons for this day in the church calendar – calling for the ingathering of the Dispersed, at the beginning of Third Isaiah:

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, ...
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

But it’s not just here: listen to these other familiar phrases: In the Psalms, “Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!” (4); “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (27); “...a light to my path....” (119). Also in Isaiah, “...walk in the light of the Lord...” (2); “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (9:2); “...a light to the nations...” (42)

In the New Testament, we see how the primitive church takes the concept even further: Zechariah’s prophecy over his son John, known to us as John the Baptizer, reads, “...the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Mt. 2:78b-79)

And, moving to Matthew, “You are the light of the world...” (Mt. 5:14) and “...light to all in the house...” (Mt 5:15). In John’s gospel, we see how the light imagery becomes permanently present in the person of Jesus: Jesus is the light shining in the darkness, the true light that enlightens everyone, the Light of the World. (Jn. 1:5, 9; 9.5)

And in Acts and the Epistles, remember these phrases? “...a light for the Gentiles...” (Acts 13:47) “I saw a light from heaven...” (Acts26:13); “...the armor of light...” (Romans 13:12); “...what fellowship is there between light and darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14); “...Father of light,...” (James (1:17); “...into his marvelous light...” (1 Peter 2:9); “God is light, in him there is no darkness....” (1 John 1:5); “...God will be their light....” (Revelations 22:5).

And, of course, in the Jesus birth stories, light is a prominent feature: The glory of the Lord shines.... A star appears in the sky.... We light the Christ candle on Christmas Eve, and put candles in the windows of our sanctuary.

It’s no accident that light from the star is an important part of the birth narratives. The world in which Jesus was born was cloaked in the darkness of Roman rule and oppression and longed for peace. You see, light as a metaphor translates into salvation and into rescue from danger. Light brings order to a chaotic world, just as in the creation story when God created light.

And it’s no accident that the people longed for an epiphany – a manifestation – of a different kind of king from King Herod the Great, who was appointed King of the Jews by the Romans, a king who terrorized the nation. The people longed for a Messiah – the true king of the Jews.

We sing, “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” but we don’t understand the significance of the story. The writer of Matthew includes the arrival of the Wise Men from the east – who see the star, seek the child, find the manger, and pay respect with gold, frankencense and myrrh – to make the point that Jesus the Light has come into the world for everyone, Gentiles as well as Jews.

One commentator notes that, “The magi are curious, inquisitive, tenacious, reverent, and obedient. They are, however, more than the first Boy Scouts!” We generally miss the theological impact of the Magi’s visit. These stories are here for a reason, but we have to dig for them. There are many layers and meanings in scripture. What I often had missed was the notion that the wise men are the first of many non-Jews who will join the Jesus movement.

It is a star, of course, God’s light, that leads the wise men to the baby Jesus.... The light shines on all of us, and those of us who receive the light, become a light. And we have the responsibility to act according to the light we have received. In other words, we, too, are to shine the light in dark places.

And there certainly is no dearth of dark places in today’s world: Consider the Middle East, Israel and Gaza; consider Iraq and Afghanistan, and India and Pakistan; consider African countries in chaos, like Zimbabwe and the Congo.

And if you like to stay closer to home, consider the homeless man who froze to death in Providence on Friday. Consider that Providence has 27 brothels with women bought and stolen from their families in other countries and trafficked for this purpose. Consider that half of the poor in RI are children. Consider the dark places in our workplaces calling for light, and dark places in our churches and in our families.

Consider that those of us who call ourselves Christian – who have received the light and are to bear witness to the light – are called to shine light into dark places.

And I have an easy way for all of us to do that this week –all you have to do is to show up!

On Tuesday, January 6th, at 3:00 p.m., the RI InterFaith Coalition will hold a Prayer Vigil in the Rotunda at the State House, so that, as our elected officials begin their new legislative session, the faith community will be praying that they will govern with wisdom and compassion and that they will work to cut poverty in RI in half in 10 years. For those of us in the faith community who are Christian, Tuesday also will be the day of celebration of Epiphany, the manifestation of the coming of light into the world in the person of Jesus, our Savior. I will be there and trust that some of you will join me....

Now, just in case you think that the faith community should mind its own business – and let the legislature tend to the business of governing – let me remind us that, when kingship was established in ancient Israel, the king’s domain came with checks and balances in the form of prophets who called rulers to govern with compassion and justice.

King Saul was saddled with his prophet Samuel whose early Yahwistic tradition limited Saul’s rights of power; King David had the prophet Nathan who reminded him of his responsibility to Yahweh. Remember that Nathan criticized David in the matter of Uriah the Hittite and his wife Bathsheba for whom David lusted? Here, even a foreigner is included in Yahweh’s compassion. Our Biblical heritage is one of dialogue between king and prophet, between governance and accountability, between politics and theology.

Dr. Howard Thurman, the first Black dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University,
wrote years ago,

When the song of angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are departed,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner
To rebuild peace among brothers [and sisters]
To make music for all to hear.

Christmas may be over.

But God’s light is with us still,
and God’s work through us –
to shine God’s light into the darkness –
is just beginning.

With God’s help, let there be light in 2009!

Amen.