Have you ever been lost in the pitch dark? Perhaps you were out hiking in the woods and night came quickly upon you. With no map and no guide, you quickly lost your way in the dark. Getting lost in a cave or mine with little or no light can be both scary and dangerous. No matter where one is, fumbling around in the dark can cause a mishap. How relieved we are when we finally see some light in the distance! If we follow that light we might make it out of the dark woods or cave. The light brings hope. This is the message that the Prophet Isaiah brings us today as we look into the Scriptures.
At the time of Isaiah, the world was in great darkness. It wasn’t a literal darkness, as if the sun had suddenly gone dim. It was a spiritual darkness. Most of the world was deeply entrenched in pagan worship, and the people of God weren’t spreading His good news and message to others. Spiritual darkness is much worse and ultimately more dangerous than physical darkness. So many people in Isaiah’s day, and even today are in spiritual darkness, wandering hopelessly around trying to find their way, but getting more and more lost. Unless someone comes with a light, there is no finding one’s way.
That is Isaiah’s good news. A Light has come! (vs. 1). The people can arise and now follow that Light to safety. They were in deep darkness, but the Light arrived (vs. 2). The light that Isaiah was speaking of is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Through Jesus the Gentiles now have full access to God the Father, their sins forgiven, and are adopted into His family. They are now His sons and daughters (vs. 4). Those who accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior become God’s children, and they come from all around the world. The prophet tells how Jesus will bring sons from afar to the Father (vs. 9). They will come to the light of Jesus from all over.
This is the real message of the Church’s holy day of the Epiphany, which is celebrated on January 6th, shortly after Christmas. Jesus came as the Messiah for the Jewish people, but He also came to be the Savior of the whole world, both Jews and Gentiles. The Magi who came to worship the Lord Jesus after His birth were Gentiles. After the shepherds, they were among the very first to worship Him. They followed the light of the star to find Him. When the Magi saw the light of the special star, be it the conjunction of some planets or some other astronomical event, they arose and followed it, and found the Messiah, the Savior (vs. 3). When anyone, Jewish or Gentile, sees and acknowledges the light of Jesus and comes to Him, they will find salvation and be accepted as His sons and daughters.
Those who are already in the light have a responsibility to share that light with those who are still in darkness. When we hear of someone who is lost in a forest or in a cave, a call goes out for people to come and help find them. They bring out the rescue dogs, and if it is getting dark, they bring flashlights and torches. Everyone goes to try and help rescue the lost one, calling their name and shining their lights in the hope that the lost one will see it. Everyone hopes that the lost one will see the light, hear the calls, and be found and rescued. As Isaiah tells us, the lost need to see the light and come out of the darkness they are in. We who have the light of Jesus need to share that light with those who still remain in spiritual darkness so that they, too, will be rescued and saved. We need to tell the world that is sitting in darkness to arise and shine for there is hope, the Light has come!
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