AEpiphany3

Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:5-13; 1 Corinthians 1:10-37; Matthew 4:12-23

January 27, 2008

A few weeks ago Don preached a sermon that had all to do with Water,

a powerful symbol throughout our entire bible and faith story.

Today, the scriptures we have read invite us to ponder Light.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

Those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined. (Isaiah & Matthew)

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1)

In the beginning

God separated light from dark.

Separated what was life from non-life.

Separated truth from what denied truth.

Took all that connected and related and upheld life

from that which would break it, isolate it, destroy it.

But God did not annihilate darkness.

God separated the light from the dark

and chose life and truth and relation for the new creation.

Though darkness is not gone,

everything that comes from God is Light.

Uncreated darkness is completely apart from God.

It represents in shadows everything that is not of God.

Into this world created by God

a baby was born.

He, like all the rest of creation came to life through God’s Light.

And everything, EVERYTHING – every grain of sand, every drop of water,

every cell of every living thing was brought forth

by the goodness and glory of the Light of God.

Every baby that comes forth from its mother’s womb

is a wondrous witness of it.

This baby was particularly healthy and prepared for this world.

His heart pumped with vigor.

His mind was exhilarated with every bit of information he took in.

As he grew, all around him was

life and truth and the invitation to belong, connect, relate to the creation.

But, remember, though God chose Light as his means of creation,

that darkness didn’t go away.

There are people who walk in darkness,

who have yet to see true life and Light, all around them and within them.

For whatever reasons, the man got some untrue messages

from shadows that crossed over his life.

He, being very bright, had excelled in school and work.

But the way he saw things was clouded.

His success, he thought, was the result of

his own sheer will and determination to rise to the top.

He looked to his success as an indication of his place in this world.

It was what he had achieved that made him feel alive.

And when he felt meaning missing from his life,

he would set out to accomplish something new.

His winning smile and hearty handshake covered up the fact that

he had become quite cynical along the way.

It seemed to him that everything in his path

was a potential obstacle to be overcome.

And he was always on guard,

expecting to be disappointed and irritated

by the inadequacies of people

the potential for things to go the wrong way.

He had a beautiful family,

A home seasoned with dinner parties and poolside cookouts.

His social calendar was filled.

But behind all this he had become very isolated.

He had come to believe that most people couldn’t be trusted.

He had been let down, deceived or betrayed

enough to know

that he had to protect himself and his interests;

that he must keep what was in that brain and that heart under tight wraps.

How had this happened to this beautiful baby boy?

Well, somehow it happens in life that we all fall short of the glory of God.

Mostly he got the false notions about himself and the world

from people all through his life who were in the same boat,

passing on the darkness they had been exposed to.

He was among so many whose understanding and experiences

were as clouded as his own.

The vital life force in this world.

The truth and goodness of every created thing.

The design that all are meant to be related

and have their place of belonging in this world.

How tragic when such glory and power get clouded over.

We are reminded over and over,

even though sometimes it’s hard to believe,

that the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.

(John 1:1-5)

Jesus moved, in our gospel,

He left Nazareth and withdrew to Galilee.

In doing so, he went to be among people

who were living in conditions of frustration and despair.

And those who were following him remembered long ago,

when, in this same region, people of old had also sat in darkness.

What the people experienced of Jesus

Called forth Isaiah’s prophecy,

Through him they saw the Light dawn

for those who lived in shadowed existence.

But what do we do about those shadows that still show up?

If you find yourself under them,

do not settle there.

Claim and seek the Light of God all around you,

and, yes, within you.

Believe that God has already chosen life and truth and belonging for you.

Believe that Jesus came as the Light of the world

And the darkness did not overcome him.

And, he moves to the place where you are.

He abides with you, his grace and truth exposing

all that hides under the shadows of darkness.

And you are not alone when the shadows in this world start to encroach.

Breath the God-given life within you on any darkness.

Speak the truth in love to the shadows.

Lift the darkness off of those you see who believe they must walk alone…

and walk with them.

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.