There is a motto in medical circles that encourages, “Where there is life, there is hope.” More than one family has had the conversation with a doctor who reported that “there wasn‘t anything more that they could do“ to help that families loved one. Quite often that conversation is closed with the words, “We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed,“ or “We‘ll just have to wait and see.” Hence the motto, “Where there is life, there is hope.“ Somebody suggested that perhaps that motto should be reversed to “Where there is hope, there is life.” The University of Duke psychology department did an experiment to test that slogan. They put a mouse into a large bowl of water with no possible way of escape. They watched as the rat quickly gave up its struggle and resigned itself to drowning. They took him out of that bowl and placed him in another that had several sticks extending out over the bowl. They watched as the rat now did everything he could to pull himself out of the water. As long as there was hope, there was life.
I admit that this was a pretty simplistic experiment. But it makes a point that I believe can be applied to many situations. The story of Epiphany is a story of hope. It is a story of hope that produces a desire to live, to live, in this case, as people who have been pulled from the teeth of death by the Savior God sent in Bethlehem. Let’s take the prophecy of Isaiah this morning to see what God says about
“The Light of the World”
I. Shining in a Dark World
II. Attracting Multitudes to the Savior
Chapter 60 of the book of Isaiah begins the conclusion to the message that God sent Isaiah to deliver. The Children of Israel had turned from the Lord and needed a heavy dose of the Law. Chapters 1-40 administer the harsh message of God‘s anger against the sins of Israel and the impending captivity in Babylon that would result. But then in chapters 41-66, God used Isaiah to bring hope to his people. That message came in three parts–the first spoke of deliverance from the captivity, the second, God‘s deliverance of people from sin, and the third (where our text is found), God‘s final deliverance of his people from this world to eternal life in heaven.
Isaiah wrote, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples…” Biblical scholar and church patriarch August Pieper describes this darkness as “a symbol of ignorance, sin, grief, woe, damnation…lies, death, wailing and gnashing of teeth.“
What Isaiah spoke against, and what August Pieper wrote about, we see all around us. You don‘t have to search for the darkness. More often than not, it finds us. That darkness has such a hold on the world that some have given up. They have resigned themselves to live in that darkness and have lost all hope of escaping it. Others have tried to reach a compromise with the darkness. They won‘t accept it in their lives, but they aren‘t willing to make the effort to overcome it. Instead, they want to find a peaceful co-existence with it. Still others are struggling against the darkness, but unable to overcome it. They despise it, but have not figured out how to escape it.
Let me tell you a little bit more about these three types of people. First is the person who has given up in his struggle with darkness. The devil has beaten this person into submission. He doesn‘t want to admit to himself that what he does is wrong. He blames others for his weaknesses, and he expects them to accept his excuses. He is convinced that he is not in the darkness and that he should be allowed to go on doing what he is doing. The Bible describes this type of person as one whose heart has been hardened.
The second type of person affected by sins darkness is the person who try to reach a compromise or agreement with it. He is willing to admit that what he does isn‘t always right. He will agree that he is sinful. But he doesn‘t believe that there is any hope for him to rise above his level of sinfulness. He has resigned himself to the misgiven belief that he will always be controlled by sinful urges and desires, and no matter how hard he tries, he will never free himself from the grip of sin. To soothe his conscience he compares himself with others he deems to be “worse“ sinners, and he finds consolation in the low degree to which he falls into sin. He can be heard to say, “I may do such and such a sin, but at least I don‘t do such and such.”
Thirdly is the person who is tormented by sin, but unable to find a solution to it. This person searches in many corners, tries many things, and goes to bed each night feeling unfulfilled. Martin Luther would have fit into this category before the gospel message opened his eyes to the love and mercy of God.
This is what Isaiah describes as “darkness“ that “covers the earth…thick darkness is over the peoples.” This is what Isaiah saw when he looked at the people of Israel, and it is what we see when we look at our world today. The darkness is there, and in some places it is still very thick. Our text does not call on us to ignore it or deny it, but rather to “Arise” and “shine” in order to dispel the darkness. Our text says that we can escape and overcome the darkness because “your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you….the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”
A light always seems to have an attracting quality to it. People want to be near the light, they want to benefit from its brightness. Ship captains search eagerly for the light from the lighthouse, the young child longs for a nightlight, and God‘s people desire the light that Jesus brought into the sin-darkened world. In our text, our Lord explained through Isaiah that his light would have that affect.
II. Multitudes Are Drawn to It
Isaiah was led to write, “Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.” When Jesus came to the earth, shepherds came from their fields to see him. Later Wise Men “from the East“ brought their gifts to him. Throughout his life Jesus gained followers from among the rich and the poor, from the famous and the lesser known. Today, people of all walks of life from the four corners of the earth kneel before the throne of God to praise and honor the Savior.
The power of God to break through the darkness of sin and its consequences is evident in every heart that turns to Jesus. The gospel message that was powerful enough to convert a persecutor into a missionary, that called a condemned criminal to eternal safety while he hung on a cross, that offered forgiveness to a denyer and comfort to 11 terrified followers, continues to draw nations to the light and kings to the brightness.
And as they come, they bring glory to the one who sent the light. Isaiah describes the glory saying, “Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.“
To Israel at the time this was written, this may have seemed like a dream. Darkness was covering the people because of their sin and unbelief. To us today, this picture might seem like an exaggeration. Sin keeps us from seeing the light in all of its glory and majesty.
But that does not change what God promises in these two verses. The light of salvation is cutting through the sin that threatens to destroy the world. Lost souls are being brought to faith that will save them. People of all walks of life are praising God for what he has done.
And that is why we gather together to sing our praises and worship the Lord. That is why we bring our offerings and give of our time to serve the Lord. That is why we move ahead in spite of the efforts of the devil to stop us. Where there is hope, there is life, and we have hope based on the promises of God and his power to fulfill them. Filled with hope, we will “Arise“ and “shine“ because our “light has come.“ God bless us as we live in the hope that he has given to us.
Amen
AThe peace of God….
–Rev. Roger Rockhoff