Sunday’s Sermon – Rise and Shine – Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12

Let’s take an informal poll this morning. Raise your hands – those of you on your Zoom screen: how many of you consider yourselves “morning people”? Are you up at the break of dawn (or before), bright eyed and bushy tailed, energized and ready to face the day? …..

I know some like you. My mother’s neighbour in Connecticut gets up at 5:30 a.m. every day. She is one of those people who say things like “once I’m up, I’m up,” and they have smiles on their faces even before a cup of coffee is in their hand. I, on the other hand, am not such an early morning person. Actually, I’m just not always a “waking up”’ person. I like a quieter, slower start to the day if possible. Those don’t happen very often. But most of my jarring wake-ups have come in ministry, believe it or not. Especially with doing hospital chaplaincy work, rushing to a hospital as family gathers before a patient dies. Or earlier on in my ministry, with youth at a church sleepover during my internship. Upon waking up the youth would inevitably turn on some fast-moving, really loud music, to get everyone going, even after they had only a few hours of sleep the night before. And wake up, they did!

“Arise, and shine” the prophet Isaiah calls out to the people of Israel, “for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1). This is a wake-up call with an equal amount of optimism and pep, spoken to the people of God who might have wanted to just pull the covers back over their head. Here Isaiah presents a vision of hope and restoration, not just for the people of Israel, but for all of the nations. It offers timeless images of majesty and power, and God’s reign breaking into everything.

These words remind us of those earlier in Isaiah:

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.

They follow-up on the promise:

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I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground.

It’s obvious that the author of this third part of Isaiah wanted to renew the hope of a community familiar with the imagery of light, inspiring them in ways that would make an impact. This portion of the book is believed to have been written sometime in the 6th century BCE, perhaps just after the first wave of exiles had returned from Babylon. If these earlier references are sparks, our verses from today in chapter 60 see the full blaze truly come alive. The imagery is powerful and magnificent, moving from clouds and confusion, to brightness with full illumination and splendor. Isaiah metaphorically pulls open those wide black-out curtains to reveal staggering morning sunlight streaming in through the window. The glory of the Lord is shining. Wake-Up!

This past Wednesday, which was January 6th, is a day designated by the church as the Feast of the Epiphany. It is intended to be a joyful celebration of the Magi who followed the star to find and worship the Christ Child.

In our contemporary context, it also was a day when, in our neighbouring country to the south, the United States, there was a shameful and horrifying scene emanating from the central place of the government, the Capitol building. As hundreds of angry and violent protesters rioted and stormed the building, amidst what looked to me like a shortage of police or the national guard, there was massive disruption of official proceedings in House and Senate chambers, a destruction of historic public property, personal injuries, and the loss of human lives. Shameful and horrifying.

So, I have to ask that most fundamental of theological questions: Where was God in this?

As Christians, we usually look for the manifestation of God in our everyday lives. We often find God in the simplest of things: the smile of a child, the gifts found in nature, the beauty of a piece of art. Yet, when something catastrophic happens, our world is shattered and we wonder how to cope.

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We hear the story of the Magi today, and although they struggled to find what they were looking for – perhaps even over many years – they did indeed find the precious Child and offer their gifts of reverence and thanksgiving.

Right now, my fellow citizens in the U.S. need our prayers. Prayers for a truly peaceful transition of power, prayers for presidential leadership to cease from inciting insurrection, prayers for some disgruntled voters to come to a realization of the facts of the fairness of this recent election. And prayers for healing. For the healing of stark divisions between so-called “left” and “right”, for the healing of relationships among people. Even for healing in the divided Christian community.

This morning, we gather for worship in search of our own epiphanies, both big and small. That we might find exactly what we are looking for. We do this in light of the greatest discovery of all, as we recall the arrival of the Magi who were in awe of the Christ child. We can look at today as a truly wonderful way to begin a new year together, seeking and searching for God. Both Matthew and Isaiah remind us that the start of another calendar year can be more than just about resolution – it is about revelation, specifically God’s revelation to the world.

The prophet Isaiah calls our attention to the ways in which God breaks into our world and illuminates our very existence. Look around, the prophet cries, and pay attention! God is here! Yes! Here! Yours and my own Christmas decorations might or might not be packed away, but God-among-us, Emmanuel, is still here. Jesus Christ is alive and present in our world here and now. No need to crawl back under the covers, or hit the snooze button. Rise! This is news worth getting up for.

What gets you up in the morning? Is it the pressure of an alarm clock with the knowledge that your day is fully booked with work or appointments? Is it the desire to get a jump on your to-do list, or go for a morning run? Is it the opportunity to catch the sunrise on your porch with a cup of coffee, like my mother’s neighbour? Isaiah might have us take a new direction with our days, beginning with an eagerness for what God is doing, or might do, in your life or in the

3 world. How might our days be different if we adopted this perspective each morning – of looking for God’s glory in the world? If we saw it, we would bask in that light and be radiant ourselves, with hearts that truly were thrilled and rejoicing. Even in the midst of shameful and horrifying things happening in the world, we know that there is hope – that there are people with wisdom, courage, and the sense of how to restore decorum and sanity.

What might help us look for God? For the Magi in Matthew’s gospel, it was a star’s light that caught their attention. Their focusing on that light is what put everything else into motion. They knew it was significant, and by following it, they were able to discover the greatest news the world has ever known.

Just as our candles on Christmas Eve made us bearers of light to each other and the world, the imagery of the star should remind us to shine brightly, in the hopes that we might be reflections of God’s glory to others. As poet Marianne Williamson writes:

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

So friends, rise and shine! For the light of the world has come, and our work is just beginning. Amen.

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