Follow the Light: A Sermon for 3 Epiphany

The Epiphany begins on January 6 with the story of the Magi from the East following the light of the star all the way to the Christ child in Bethlehem.  The star literally illumined the way, but the deeper meaning is that the Gentiles were being invited on a journey from darkness to light. This light was no longer only for the people of Israel. The season after the Epiphany picks up and carries this theme of the light shining in the darkness. And this light is God’s light being made manifest in Jesus Christ.

In today’s Old Testament lesson the prophet Isaiah uses the metaphor of God’s light shining in the darkness to express a new era of freedom from bondage.

Isaiah prophesied that God would raise up a new King of Israel who would liberate them from their bondage under Assyrian rule. As it turns out, Isaiah was right and wrong. God did eventually shine God’s light into their darkness by sending Israel a new king. But, this King – this light – would be for all people, not just Israel.

In our gospel lesson today, Matthew picks up on Isaiah’s prophesy, as well as his metaphor. He points out that after John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus shifted the epicenter of his ministry to “Galilee of the Gentiles,” just as Isaiah prophesied. And in that region where “people sat in darkness,” this new King – Jesus, would invite his first disciples to follow “a great light.” These first disciples did what the Magi at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel did – they followed the “great light,” not knowing where it would lead them, but knowing that it was indeed like no other light they had seen before.

This “great light” about which Isaiah prophesied and was fulfilled in Jesus Christ is a light that changes all who see and follow it. It forever changed the Magi, as Matthew notes that they went home by a different road. Of course, there were practical reasons they chose another road home, but there is also an ontological reason – their very own essence was forever changed once they encountered the Light of Christ. And the disciples who chose to follow the Light – to follow Jesus – were forever changed. They too took a different road home once they saw Jesus.

But this light doesn’t invoke easy, superficial change. The first words out of Jesus’ mouth when he began his ministry in “Galilee of the Gentiles” was an echo of his mentor John the Baptist - “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In other words, the first thing that this light illumined was Israel’s and our desperate need to repent – to turn around. The light shining in our darkness is akin to lifting up a rug and seeing the dust and dirt that has been hidden underneath. But the light also calls us out of our darkness – out from underneath the rug, and into a new reality that is illumined and guided by the light of Christ.

For the disciples in our gospel lesson today, this new reality was drastic indeed, as it required a change of vocation, location, and purpose. They “immediately left their nets and followed Jesus.” Like the Magi, they were forever changed by their encounter with Christ’s light, so they took a different road home.

So, what is our new reality? What effect does God’s light shining in the darkness have on us? How is this “great light” that was prophesied by Isaiah and fulfilled in Jesus more than just a quaint, sentimental observation for us? How can and does this light usher in an entirely new reality for us as it did the Magi, the disciples, and countless saints who have gone before us?

I think that the first step for us during this season of Epiphany is to not only look for, be aware of, and observe the light, but also to follow the light. This will be challenging work – or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it – “the cost of discipleship.” We don’t know what ever came of the Magi, but we do know what came of those first twelve disciples that Jesus called. As hard a life as commercial fishing is, their lives as followers of Christ light was, on one level, much more difficult. We must remember that once Christ ascended into heaven, all of the disciples died martyrs deaths. But look at the impact they had not only on their generation, but the generations that would follow, all the way up to ours. I am not advocating for martyrdom – thanks be to God that following Christ’s light in our context here doesn’t result in that. But it does require a death of sorts. It does require what John and what Jesus called for – it calls for repentance. It calls for a turning around and a new beginning. And there will be turn arounds and new beginnings over and over and over again.

When we look for, see, and follow Christ’s light, we will indeed be both convicted and redeemed. But we will not have to stand alone in our journey out of darkness into the light. As noted in our Psalm today, the light gives us strength and courage in the face of darkness. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?... For in the day of trouble, [this light] shall keep me safe in his shelter; he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling and set me high upon a rock…Therefore, I will offer in his dwelling an oblation with sounds of great gladness; I will sing and make music to the Lord.”

And here we are, in the Lord’s dwelling, making an oblation – our sacrifice and offering of praise and thanksgiving for all that God has done, is doing, and will continue to do. The call to follow the light of Christ is an odd and wondrous calling, and thankfully it isn’t an isolated call. The call to follow the light of Christ and to be the light of Christ is always a call into community. During this season of Epiphany, let us look for, enter into, follow, and remain in the light.