Isaiah 60:1–6

Epiphany Sunday

¹Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. ²For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. ³And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. ⁴Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. ⁵Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. ⁶A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.

"Darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples." The darkness is thick because the light we think we have is itself darkness. The Lord Jesus says, "If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Satan's name is Lucifer; angel of light. He always appears to us as light, but his light is darkness; thick darkness, for if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

It seems that whenever man thinks he has found the light, he has really stumbled into darkness. During the Middle Ages, superstition and idolatry reigned. Medieval man had lost the light of knowledge and wisdom. The heritage of learning and scholarship passed down from the Greeks through the Romans had been forgotten. In this time period dubbed the "Dark Ages" the light of the Gospel also had been hidden by the church so that it did not shine in the world. The Gospel had been buried "under a bushel" so to speak by the church and the light of the church was in reality the darkness of legalism and idolatry. Superstition reigned. Widespread death like the Bubonic Plague spread across the continent killing 20 to 30 million in Europe alone. Fear of death and demons gripped the hearts of all mankind as seen in the Dance of Death, a medieval allegory that became an art form in which death is personified and seen playing his flute, leading a train of skeletons to the grave. Each skeleton accompanies a person from a different station in life, a judge, a merchant, a prince, a pauper, a maiden, a schoolboy all made equal by death as they dance their way into the grave.

Then came the Enlightenment. Science and the systematic study of nature began to disperse the darkness and superstition was replaced with knowledge. But in the end, the Enlightenment itself was darkness, the darkness of humanism where man took his seat on the throne of God and took credit for what God does. Enlightenment thinkers considered religion as the antithesis of reason. What man considered light turned out to be the darkness of idolatry as man worshipped his own intellect and declared that God was dead. Once again, the darkness of Lucifer appeared to us as light.

Today another light has shined; the light of spirituality, the quest for the enlightened path and spiritual illumination. Post-modernity is born in which objective truth is thrown out. Without objective truth knowledge and science are once again becoming lost. Post-modernity is in reality the return of mankind to medieval superstition. The black arts and paganism of the Middle Ages today are flaunted as wisdom. If you go to the "wisdom and spirituality" section of any modern bookstore you will find if filled with books on medieval superstitions and witchcraft.

In this age of spiritual illumination, man seeks a god who will make him successful and fulfilled; a god who will make him feel good. Man today says, "I will not worship a god who allows suffering and evil to exist in the world." By thinking this way he becomes an idolater who fashions his gods in his own image; gods that please him and do what he wants them to do. Post-modern man makes his own god who is anything but the Triune God who created the world and reveals himself to us in the suffering and death of His Son.

Post-modern man once again is doing the dance of death, as we slaughter millions of unborn babies each year, euthanize the weak and infirm, and practice eugenics to create a perfect race. This fascination with death and darkness is seen in young people taking up the "gothic" life style; it's seen in an alarming spread of witchcraft and Satanic arts among children, and it's seem in kids opening fire on their classmates in school. One teenager once told me that the ultimate thrill was death.

All this because Lucifer, the angel of light, spreads his darkness into every nook and cranny of human existence and mankind calls this darkness light. When we look deep inside ourselves to discover the solutions to our own problems; or when we meditate to find spiritual illumination for our souls, what we discover is that the light within is really darkness; and as Jesus says, "If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

Today this darkness has crept into the churches in our land. Their light has been lost as the preaching of law and gospel has been exchanged for a message of positive thinking, success and consumerism. The popular Christianity of today is the doctrine of medieval legalism that follows the teachings of the Pharisees of Jesus' time. The light of popular religion across our continent today is the darkness of legalism and the idolatry of self-worship. Yea, "If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

But the greatest darkness of all is the darkness of our own sinful hearts. For by nature we are sinful and unclean. Sin and unbelief is the true darkness. Self worship is idolatry. Our self-righteous attitudes are idolatry. Our worship of comfort and ease is idolatry. Our desire for power and success and fame is idolatry. The light that is within us is darkness; how great is that darkness indeed!

Just as God punished the Israelites for their idolatry he will punish us. Just as he destroyed Jerusalem and its temple with the nations of Assyria and Babylon, so he will destroy us with his wrathful judgment. On that last day we will all be called into account. All flesh shall see God on the judgment seat and everyone will stand before him to be judged. That day will be a day of weeping and gnashing of teeth for the vast majority of people; for all those who do not believe in Him....

But... into this world of darkness, there came a light. Arise and shine, for your light has come. That bright morning star, how fair and bright it is. That Son of David of the race of Jacob, our dear Lord and master who has won our hearts. He is the heavenly bridegroom that shines in our hearts and supplies us with life. Though we are perplexed by the sadness and distresses of the darkness of this world, he blesses us with heavenly joy. When God looked down on us with love, a ray of pleasure fell on us from heaven. That ray of light was in the form of a baby lying in a manger. The Almighty Father loved us in his Son before the foundation of the world and with his Son he ransomed us from the darkness of the world. Christ the living gives us life. Christ the light gives us light. And the light of the Star shone in the east and wise men followed that star to the Christ child lying in a manger. And there in that lowly, humble feed trough for animals, they kneeled before the King of Kings and worshiped him and gave him their treasures as an offering.

The light is the Gospel; it is justification of the sinner. It is forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus. The light is the blood of Jesus that redeems us; purchasing us from the kingdom of darkness. It is salvation, for where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

This is Epiphany; the light of salvation shining into the darkness of our world. This is Epiphany; the light of salvation bursting forth in the darkness of our hearts. Let the harps break forth; let the music sing out, let your voices join in jubilation and exaltation to tell the story; the story of the Son of God come into the world, made flesh for the life and salvation of all mankind. Rise and shine! Let the light of the Gospel shine in word and sacrament throughout the world.

For then shall the nations come streaming to the light of Zion; kings will come to the brightness of the rising Son of God. Lift up your eyes, thou Son of God, and see; the nations gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult because the nations shall come to you.

Let the light of the Gospel shine in the church. For as we have come to the light and been gathered into the church by the Holy Spirit, the light of faith has shone in our hearts. Let our words and song be filled with the light of Christ for all to see.

This is Epiphany. The light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ shining in the world. Since the 1880s when the first Missouri Synod missionary was commissioned to India until today, the light of the Gospel has shown. Today, the light is shining in the 85 countries where our synod has missionaries serving; in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America and North America, the light of the Gospel of Christ shines.

Arise! Shine, for your light has come. We at Emmanuel have a strong heritage of preaching the pure Word of God and rightly administering the sacraments. We live in the light of the Gospel of Christ. That light transforms us from children of darkness into children of light. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the light shines in your lives, in your love, in your words, in your service. We are gathered here to be in the light in order that the light will shine through us to our families, our neighbors, our neighborhood and our community. The Holy Spirit does not hide his light inside the church; the light must burst forth into the world. Those of us who are called to the light are the light of the world.

Arise! Shine! You are light to the world. As you are given birth in baptism; as you are kept in the light of the gospel by the preaching of the word; as you are sustained by the body and blood of him who is the light of salvation, so you are also most honored. The Lord stands you up before the dark, fearing world, as light.

Even as you are in your sinful flesh and the world sees you only in your weakness, the world also sees your repentance, your hearing of God's forgiveness, your humble receiving of his sacrament, and your joyful extolling of his light. In seeing that, the world living in darkness, is given to see the light. Arise! Shine! For your light has come and nations shall come to your light.

Amen.