SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 61:1-6
TEXT: 60:1Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. THEME: God’s ways bring hope of living in mutually productive relationships. INTRODUCTION The season of Epiphany is about enlightenment. It begins with the wise astrologist connecting the comic movement of a star, with an activity of God’s on Earth. The symbol of this season is light, and more specifically light shining in darkness. Light is more powerful than darkness. Nothing is faster than the speed of light, and yet Darkness seems to be there before light. Light gives us direction as well as reveals what we have been blind to, pit falls and obstacles. The events of this week have been like a light that have exposed a darkness in American. The breech of our Nation’s capital building, crossed over the boundary’s democracy, for a rule that is opportunistic, self-serving, elitist, short sighted, and corrupt. It is not that we have need seen the dark, but there are those who blindly follow the illusions of authority, ignoring their own common sense and logic. The result was violence and sadness, devoid of any moral content. Sometimes we don’t like what the light reveals, it is disruptive. But now that we have seen our sin, we can’t ignore it. This revelation must become a piece of our moving forward. SCRIPTURE The Spiritual Battle that Israel was engaged in, exhibits itself with the physical captivity of the people of God in the God forsaken land of Babylon. They have been unfaithful, worshiping and following the ways of other gods to get what they want. God’s anger rose against them. Prophets warned them, but they acted as if they were deaf and believed that they knew better than God. As a result, the Babylonian King attacked and defeated them without God’s help. The leaders, rulers, politicians, teachers, young, and strong were interned in Babylon away from their people, to reduce the threat of a rebellion. Seventy years have passed and now the Prophet Isaiah is giving them hope, as he talks about a return to Jerusalem. Arise for light has come. Israel is an illuminating light of what God can do, through them. As a nation with God, they were invincible. As a nation that strayed from God, they were capture and exiled in Babylon. Now dormant Isaiah gives them God’s message of hope, Israel will have a chance to shine for God again. Our lives, lived in relationship with God is provocative and compelling. God renews Israel, revives Israel, releases Israel from captivity, forgives Israel of her transgressions, returns Israel home, restores Israel and uses Israel as a screen that captures the light of God’s glory. The dynamics of living with God are revealed in Israel’s relationship with God. People are attracted to the light of God, and come from all over the world to be a part of this dynamic relationship. The people of God will be made up of sons and daughters beyond the boundaries of Israel, from faraway places, even Babylon. The last part of this prophetic message is about economic relationships that leads to prosperity, Trade agreements, covenants, alliances, will create mutually beneficial relationships with each other. Fostering economic relationships of respect and diversity, flourishes communities with the exchange of ideas as well as goods. This is God’s plan for all of us, peaceful relationships with our neighbors and among countries, sharing and spreading the light of God far beyond any boarder. APPLICATION God's light arises and gives us hope for living in new ways. It is disruptive as it exposes what we try to hide. Being brought to light, we can admit our fault. When we own up to our actions that have contributed up to our darkness, then we can make choices to change things so we don’t find ourselves in that situation again. How do we take the disruption of God’s light and use it as an example to others? The Bible tells stories of human experiences with God. They are not perfect stories of perfect people but of human failures and successes, of those who have given in to temptation and those who have recovered from such failings. Power has corrupted those of faith and has led to great accomplishments. Greed, lust and evil have brought the downfall of many, but God is in the midst of those stories show how God can work all things for the good of those who love God., and how there is nothing impossible for God. We are seeing this being unfolded in our nation today. We have been a beacon for democracy. The peaceful exchange of presidential leadership, a Country of the people, by the people, for the people. Even with the events of this week, how we navigate having a president who refuses to admit to losing an election and causing an insurrection against the Senate’s confirmation of electoral votes, the structure of our democracy will sort out this turmoil and prevail, shinning forth. This is what the nation of Israel is to be, a beacon of living in relationship with God. God deeply influencing the way Israel lives and the results of living by God’s ways displayed for all to see. This mantle is also ours, as we are the sons and daughters who have come from afar to be God’s people. Recently, in the midst of all of the progress that we have been making, surviving the pandemic, moving along with the Wailuku Mission Housing, and my personal gains, I have been feeling the difficulties, from negative forces, trying to be my undoing. The attacks feel spiritual, so I put myself in a humble state to allow God’s light to shine in my darkness, with a glory that still holds me in God’s love. God reveals stuff in our lives so we can let go of them and live-in better ways and not to have our bad behavior define us. Humble and open to make an assessment of my behavior and admit my failings. I read the Bible for insight, to give God a chance to speak to me, instead of me doing all of the talking. I pray, sometimes like a child that has no filters to interrupts a conversation. Maybe more like an old person who has just thought of something and has to say it now because they forget. I sing a hymn or spiritual songs. They actually can be any song that resonates with how I am feeling and carries what I am going through to God as a prayer. God’s light has a healing aspect to it, that sets our course in the right path again, repairs relationships and brings hope for a better future. CONCLUSION When the light shines and exposes the ugliness around us, we could deny what we see and cover it up by being blind to it. Or we could let the light be disruptive, admit our ugliness and let God hold us in Glorious love, so together we can make necessary changes to live into a better future. We pray for our country to do this. We pray for our world to do this. We pray for our lives to do this, so that the relationships we foster with each other, can have the opportunity to grow in stewardship, responsibility, creativity, imagination and inspiration.
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May 2024
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