The Epiphany of Our Lord, 2009
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
Isaiah 60:1-3
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
On this day we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. Again, epiphany means to make manifest or to reveal. As the angels spoke and revealed the Christ Child to the Jewish shepherds, now the star guides and the prophecy of Micah reveals the Christ Child to the Gentile wise men. Jesus is the true light who has come into the world. After His Ascension, He has placed the church as the light in the world. Through the power of the gospel, light shines in the darkness bringing more people into the church.
The inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation was no accident. The prophets foretold it and the Apostles affirmed it. In today’s Epistle text, we hear these words from the Apostle Paul, “This mystery isthat the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6 ESV) In the revealed teaching of the Holy Scriptures, Jesus is revealed to be the Savior of the Nations. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. We are one in Him.
In today’s Old Testament text we hear these words, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For 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. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (Isaiah 60:1-3 ESV) In these wonderful words, Isaiah the prophet declares that the Messiah would come to the Jews and that the news of His coming would spread to the Gentiles. Isaiah tells of the Church which is the spiritual Jerusalem begetting spiritual sons and daughters of the king through the gospel. The assembling and gathering of the nations to Jerusalem is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing people into the Holy Church.
Because of sin, all mankind is in darkness toward God. We cannot come to our own understanding of who God is or what pleases Him through earthly wisdom. Man cannot truly know God or shed light upon God through human effort, intellectual pursuits, or experience. It is God who shines light upon us.
Only through heavenly wisdom given to us by God, can we know who God is and what pleases Him. It takes a supernatural spiritual revealing of light from above. Now when we talk about light, we must understand the way in which the Bible uses the image of light. Jesus is the Light, the church which preaches Jesus is the light, and the gospel is the light. It is good news when the true light comes into the world to rise upon us and to raise us up, to shine on us and through us.
To begin with, Jesus is the light of the world as the Evangelist John reveals to us in his gospel. In chapter one, John calls Jesus the true light coming into the world (John 1:9). In chapter eight Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ESV) Again in chapter nine, Jesus says, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5 ESV) Jesus is the coming light that the darkness cannot overcome. Where Jesus is present there is light.
Jesus promises to be present in the church. In Matthew’s gospel it is revealed that the church is the light to the world. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV) After the Ascension of Jesus, the church was sent out from Jerusalem to be the light of the world. As believers, you are in the light and you walk in the light. The light of Christ shines on you illuminating you as the moon gets its light from the sun. In Christ, your sins are not counted against you, therefore all that remains is good works done in the light shining forth from the light.
Now let’s be clear on this: good works are not the light. Believers are the light to the world. Apart from faith, all works are done for the glory of the self. Such selfish works are done so that others can see them and praise you. Such works done without faith are not good works at all. Therefore, people have to toot their own horn and shine a spot light on their works to make them appear splendorous. Such works do not give glory to God.
Just as deeds done without faith are not pleasing to God, so too evil works do not bring the proper honor and glory to God’s name. Through us, the goodness of God is done to our neighbor. True good works show forth the true goodness of God for all humanity. Evil wicked works show forth the evil wickedness of our own hearts done for our own sake.
The gospel is the light which is preached by the church. Paul writes in chapter four of his second letter to the Christians in Corinth saying, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3-6 ESV) Where Jesus is not preached, there is no light.
The gospel is the special treasure of the church. But, let us learn this lesson well that even though the Jews had the word of God from the mouth of Isaiah, they still fell into darkness. The majority of the Jews did not remain in the light. Even though they had the word of God which promised the coming of the true light, they preferred the darkness. It had overtaken them. Thus, the light of the gospel was sent out to the Gentiles. Let us never extinguish the light of the gospel in our own midst. Those in darkness cannot lead others into the light.
Now we can all understand the simple analogy of light. Light reveals things that we cannot see in the darkness. In our new house, some of the rooms have ceiling lights and some do not. We even have some sky lights. Now of course, during the day when the natural light of the sun is shining in the windows this is not that big of a deal. However, when night comes and we are no longer living in the light of the sun, what a difference a ceiling light makes? It is difficult to see. Therefore, we have set up some lamps to give to us light.
Where there is no Jesus, there is no light. Where there is no church there is no light in the world. Where there is no gospel there is no light in the church. Thus, we gather this day in the name of Jesus and we hear these words given to us as the people of God, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Christ the true light comes to us in the hearing of His word and the receiving of His sacrament. He shines the gospel light upon on us and sends us back out to be the light of the world. Amen.
