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Isaiah 60:19-22, John 8:12 The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” - Isaiah 60:19b I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.” - John 8:12 If you’re anything like me, you have a hard time falling asleep with remnants of light or sound seeping through the window or door. As a light sleeper, I will wake at the slightest sound of laughter from the living room or headlight from a car passing by. This unfortunate reality became clear upon my move to Quito, Ecuador. The curtains that line my bedroom are sheer (I’m quite honestly not sure what they are meant for), and the noise of the street permeates the quietness of the night. In the morning as well, trucks that circle through the neighborhoods with gas to sell play their song, repetitive and loud, at the earliest sight of sunlight. All of this to say, Quito is a loud city full of distractions. It’s really interesting to me how the smallest amount of light or sound can change the entirety of my sleeping patterns. It’s almost as if the darkness and stillness cannot contain the light and sound that comes forth. This got me thinking about the strength with which the Light of Christ permeates the darkness. Isaiah 60:19 says that “the sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you.” While we were sitting in the “utter darkness” described in Psalm 107, light somehow breaks through. But not the light that we know on this earth - a light that has the ability to break the chains of the oppressed (Psalm 107:14). While the light of the sun wakes me in the morning, it will no longer be the source of elimination of darkness. The Lord becomes our everlasting light that saturates even the darkest of spaces. When the Pharisees question Jesus’ authority and teaching in John 8, Jesus responds by simply stating that he is the “light of the world,” and that “whoever follows [him] will never walk in the darkness but have the light of life.” While I struggle to find darkness in the hours of the night, as city lights shine through my sheer curtains, I am reminded of the Light of the World. The Light who has broken our chains and set us free. The Light who carries us through the darkness, so bright that those oblivious before to its strength cannot be oblivious any longer. Similarly to my bedroom, curtains cannot contain the life that bursts forth with the Light of the World. Let’s rest in the promise of Isaiah 60 today:
“The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”