Arise, Shine!

Isaiah 60:1-7 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. - Isaiah 60:1 In the church calendar, today is the Epiphany of the Lord. January 6 (the 12th day after Christmas) is used to recognized the time the Magi came from the east and found Jesus in Bethlehem, giving him gifts of gold and incense. More importantly, they recognized him as worthy of their worship. In the blackness of a night sky, ‘a light had come’ in the form of a star, drawing the first Gentiles to Christ. Isaiah’s prophecy anticipated such a thing. He had a vision of a city where God would dwell and where light would draw the nations. That light would originate in God himself—his glory would appear, shining like the light of dawn. And kings and nations would be drawn to that light. They would bring all the best they had to offer into the city. Wealth and riches; camels from Midian; gold and incense from Sheba; flocks of sheep from Kedar and Nebaioth; ships from Tarshish with silver and gold; great trees from Lebanon. All of the best this world can offer was brought before God’s throne in this vision. All because the light drew them. John had a similar sort of vision. His was a vision clarified through the lens of Christ. Revelation 21-22 describes the city, correlating closely with Isaiah 60. Just like in Isaiah, this city is bathed in light (Rev 21:10-11); indeed, there would be no more sun or moon, because God himself is the light, so there would be no night (Is 60:19-20, Rev 21:23). The gates would not be shut (Is 60:11, Rev 21:25). All the best—the ‘glory and the honor’—of the nations will be brought into it (Rev 21:26). John makes one important clarification. Certainly, it is the glory of God that gives light to the city, but the Lamb is its lamp. The crucified Christ, the Lamb of God, is the source of light. This is nothing new for John to say. In his gospel account, he recounted Jesus declaring the same:

“I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself… You are going to have the light just a little while longer… Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” (John 12:32, 35-36)

If Christ is the light, how are we to make sense of Isaiah 60:1? “Arise, shine!” How do we understand Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world”? Well, we are children of light. We are like refractors of light, reflecting the light of Christ in our world. How? I’ll leave you with words from Richard Mouw, addressing that question.

“The Bible links its portrayals of the Holy City to very practical commands: pour out your lives for the afflicted; comfort the brokenhearted; love your brothers and sisters; feed the hungry. By doing these things here and now, we can experience something of the light of God’s glory—a light that will someday shine eternal in the Holy City.”

Christian, arise and shine, for your light—Christ—has come!

~ Pastor Tim