Isaiah 60: 1-6: Arise, shine, for your light has come
Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany: the shining of God’s light into the world. And the light shining into the world was God’s own son, the Messiah. The one whom God had promised would bring salvation within reach of all who chose to accept it. The Messiah was not a phantom or a spirit, but the Son of God who took on our humanity with his divinity. A man of flesh and blood. He lived and worked as a carpenter in Nazareth in Galilee, in the Holy Land. When he grew up and the time came for him to teach God’s word in all he said and did, he began his ministry among the people he met every day, with his teaching, his healing and his miracles, until his execution on a cross seemingly ended his life. But it did not. God’s promise of salvation had been given and would not be broken. Maybe this is what Isaiah foresaw when he speaks as if the Messiah was already here, 700 or so years before his birth: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1). So Jesus did not die, but rose from the dead and commissioned his followers – and that includes us – to continue his work, not just locally in Israel, but, amazingly, throughout the world. So the disciples took, and still take, the light of God’s word to the whole world. And this is what St Paul means when he writes in his letter to the Ephesians about the mystery of Christ. The mystery is not that he came, but that, as Paul writes, through him “The Gentiles (that is the rest of the world) have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6).
But, looking again at Isaiah, why was it so important that he should rouse and cheer the Israelites? What was the situation of the Israelites in around 700 BC? What was their overwhelming need? Their great need at this point in time was for hope, hope that would carry them through their current difficulties and onwards to something better. How could the promise that Abraham would become the father of many nations be fulfilled if his people sank under the weight of their distress? What had happened was that finally Jerusalem had been destroyed by the invading Babylonians. Most of the population had been taken into exile in Babylon, though a remnant remained in Jerusalem. Finally Cyrus, King of Persia, allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem after many long and hard years of exile. He even provided funding and building materials to restore the temple. But the return of the exiles was not the joyous experience they hoped for. They found those who had remained in Jerusalem were hostile to them, and unwilling to cooperate. The restoration of the temple and the city ground almost to a halt. This created a crisis of faith for the Israelites. They had weathered so many storms in their history, but now their faith was in crisis, just as it had been all those years before, when Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt towards the Promised Land. Then they were full of doubt and fearful of what lay ahead on their journey. Now, finally back in Jerusalem, they were beset by difficulties. Where was God? What did his promises mean?
We ourselves can perhaps know that feeling of fear and devastation in our own lives – the loss of a job which is our means of livelihood, the death of a loved one, the diagnosis of an illness such as cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. Where can we turn for the strength to go on as faithful disciples of Jesus?
Isaiah steps forward to the Israelites with the word of God. He announces the good news that deliverance is very near. He speaks to Zion, the community in Jerusalem whose life is centred on the devastated and unreconstructed city. The TV pictures we see today of the destruction in the Middle East show us what devastation can be like. But Isaiah sees from the present deep into the future. The future can be different.
The people are to “rise” from the lethargy of despair and to “shine” with the reflected light of God. It is the manifest presence of God which is rising on them, bringing in a new age, just as the rising sun brings in a new day. Three times in verses 1 and 2 the word “on you” are repeated, emphasising that it is these very defeated and fearful people who are being summoned to reflect the light of God who comes among them. In the same way, Moses’ face shone with the reflected light of God when he came down from Mt Sinai, having been in God’s presence and received the Ten Commandments. God chooses us to reflect his light in the world so that everyone can see it.
“Nations will come to your light” says Isaiah (6:3), making it plain that, through the Israelites, all people will be drawn to God. And not only the Gentiles, but all the Israelites scattered through the world. The thick darkness which covered the world will be lit up by God’s glory, his presence and his power. People will be so filled with joy that their hearts will be enlarged to accommodate it. And Isaiah pictures caravans of camels trekking across the desert bringing rich gifts of gold and frankincense and all the costly materials needed for the restoration of the temple. And the Nations, the Gentiles, will come because they too are drawn with the Israelites to God’s light and to worship with them in God’s temple. Faith, Light, Hope and the presence of God can re-build anything.
Amen
SR