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Arise, Shine, For Your Light Has Come
Isaiah 60:1-6, 17-20, Matthew 2:1-12
A sermon by Kathy Toivanen at EMUC, 1/7/2007
It is estimated that 600 thousand Canadians suffer from SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder. Nobody knows for sure what causes SAD, but it is closely linked to our internal clock and the changes in our brain chemistry that occur with the lack of sunlight we experience in the Northern Hemisphere between September and April. A "biological internal clock" in the brain regulates our circadian (daily) rhythms. This biological clock responds to changes in season, partly because of the differences in the length of the day.
For many thousands of years, the cycle of human life of our ancestors was keenly attuned to the daily cycle of light and dark. Artificial light was either non-existent, or too costly for the average person to use extensively. And so people were alert and active when the sun shone and slept when the world was in darkness. The relatively recent introduction of electricity has relieved us of the need to be active mostly in the daylight hours. But our biological clocks may still be telling our bodies to sleep as the days shorten. As we choose to ignore the ancient rhythms of our human bodies, we can be adversely affected by daily schedules and routines that no longer change according to the seasons. People who are more acutely affected by the changes in the light can suffer from a variety of symptoms of SAD such as: depression or a flat, low mood, decreased concentration, sleeping for increasing amounts of time -sometimes 4 or more hours more, a craving for carbohydrates and sweets which can lead to weight gain.
While we may not have the cold and snow of winter this year, we still have the short hours of daylight. In this season of craving and needing more light, we have the gift of the Season of Epiphany.
Epiphany actually predates Christmas as a Christian Festival.
Epiphany, celebrated on January 6th, begins the season which lasts until the beginning of Lent - this year Lent begins on February 21st.
Traditionally in celebrations on January 6th, the story of the magi’s visit to the Christ child is read or reenacted. Gifts are given in celebration of the gifts of the magi. Often a special cake called a Kings’ cake is baked. The cake is round to portray the circular route taken by the magi to confuse King Herod. A dry bean is placed in the cake to symbolize the child Jesus. The person who receives a piece of cake with the bean becomes the king or queen for the night. In warmer climates, hay or grass is collected in baskets and children leave it out for the magi’s camels, hoping that in the morning, the baskets will be filled with gifts.
The word ‘epiphany’ means ‘manifestation’. The season of Epiphany is literally a manifesting - a showing, a revealing, a shining forth of God’s revelation to the world in Jesus Christ. It is a season to seek the light of Christ, to immerse ourselves in this light and to participate in actions and lifestyles that lift up the light in a world that is often shrouded in the darkness of despair and suffering, a world in great need of the light of God.
The scripture readings for Epiphany make clear to us that the manifestations, the revelations of the light of God are not always when and where we expect to find them.
The prophet Isaiah speaks to a generation of Hebrew people who have been living in the darkness of despair. They remember back to a ‘Golden Age’ when the temple in Jerusalem was the religious centre of Israel and pilgrims came from far and near to worship.
Once exiled in Babylon, the Hebrew people have returned home only to find that the temple and all that formerly gave meaning to their lives is in ruins. Their once strong community is now scattered. Looking ahead they only see more misery and despair. But Isaiah sees something else. He says it is time to, "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen up on you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples, but God will arise upon you, and God’s glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." In the midst of darkness that surrounds them, Isaiah tells these beleaguered people to be alert to the light of God that is already arising in their midst.
And centuries later, the gospel of Matthew proclaims this Epiphany message once again. Into the darkness of a nation suffering under the rule of the Roman Empire, Matthew tells us that a new revelation of God is now shining forth. This story of the Magi reminds us not to look for the revelation of God in the usual places of power and magnificence. Don’t look in the political or religious centres of the day - don’t go to Rome or to Jerusalem, don’t go to the temples and big religious centres, don’t go to the government buildings, go instead to the least likely of places. Go to a small community on the margins. Go to the house of an unknown and insignificant peasant couple and there in that obscure place you will find the one who is God’s new revelation, the one who has come as light to shine in the darkness of our world.
The season of Epiphany is all about trusting that this light of God still shines in the world in spite of the darkness that seems to be so pervasive. It is all about making a commitment to seek out that light and to be guided by that light. That means that we need to be open and alert to the opportunities and possibilities where God’s light might just show up unexpectedly.
A story told by Jim Lovell, an Apollo 13 astronaut serves to illustrate this. In April of 1970, Apollo 13 was launched with a mission to orbit the moon and to successfully land the third crew on the moon. Two days after launch, the spacecraft was crippled by an explosion, causing the Service Module portion of the Apollo Command/Service Module to lose its oxygen and electrical power. Jim Lovell was the captain of the ship. In Ron Howard’s film "Apollo 13", there is a scene in the Lovell home where anxious family and friends are gathered around the TV watching for the latest news of the disaster. The network plays a clip of an interview with Jim Lovell prior to the launch of Apollo 13.
The interviewer had asked Jim if he had ever had been frightened or if he experienced danger while flying an aircraft. Jim tells the story of a time when he was an air force pilot, flying in combat at night over the Sea of Japan. His radar had jammed and his homing signal that was to lead him back to his aircraft carrier wasn’t working. Jim had just flipped on his map light when everything in his cockpit shorted out; all of his instrumentation and lights were gone. He was running out of fuel and was considering ditching in the ocean.
As he looked down at the dark water below, he saw a green phosphorescent trail of light that had been churned up in the wake of a big ship - his aircraft carrier. Jim tells the interviewer that he was only able to see this unique trail of luminescent algae because his cockpit lights had shorted out. When things seemed to be the darkest and least hopeful, he saw this trail of light that led him back safely to his aircraft carrier.
Today, there is much in the news that would lead us to believe that there isn’t much that can penetrate the darkness and the despair that covers the world - global warming leading to ecological disasters, conflicts among nations leading to so much death and destruction, acts of terrorism leading to ever greater fear and lack of trust among peoples, unjust sharing of resources leading to greater poverty, hunger and disease.
And of course we all have personal circumstances that cloud and darken our days - health concerns, financial worries, family and relationship issues, challenges with our work or the lack of work - you know of what I speak.
As companions of Jesus Christ, we are called, like Jim Lovell, like the magi to set out on our own quest to uncover and discover the light that is shining even when and where we might least expect it. For our faith reminds us that there are glimpses of the light of God all around us if only we have eyes to see. It is a light that is deeply imbedded in creation and in each one of us. It is our Epiphany vocation to discover and uncover this light and to let it shine forth as a beacon of God’s hope and blessing to others and to the world.
Susan Genge, a United Church minister and friend of mine for the past 27 years has first hand experience of the light of Christ that was shared as a beacon of hope and blessing during their family crisis.
The story of the Genge family’s experience appears in this month’s United Church Observer, and for those of you who don’t have a subscription, I have made some printed copies available at the back.
Susan had been attending a preaching seminar at Emmanuel College in Toronto (one of UCC theological colleges - where Joanne Hedge is currently a student). The seminar leader was teaching them about the responsive style of African-American preaching. The speaker would say, "God is good." and invite them to respond with "all the time". And then the speaker would say again, "All the time", and they would respond, "God is good". It was in the midst of the seminar, that Susan was paged with the news that her 15 year-old son, Andrew, had been seriously injured in tackle in a rugby game.
His face has been crushed and most of the bones in his face were broken. Later in critical care in hospital a blood clot hit his brain and he had a stroke paralyzing his right side - making him unable to walk, talk or even swallow. The family gathered at Andrew’s bedside that night to face the stark reality that he might not live.
But even in this darkest time, the light of Christ was not to be put out. It shone as God’s people became for them, a beacon of God’s hope and blessing.
The weekend of Andrew’s accident was the same weekend as the United Church Conference meeting in the Bay of Quinte region. At the meeting, a green shawl was passed among all the delegates, each person offering a prayer, and then it was draped over Andrew in the critical care unit. A Roman Catholic hospital chaplain radiated joy and hope, trust and faith at the point in those early days when the Genge family was all stunned and shocked.
Food appeared as if by magic at the door of their household and continued to appear for months afterward. Throughout Andrew’s hospital stay and later in rehabilitation at Bloorview in Toronto, friends from Habitat for Humanity, for which the whole family had volunteered, cared for the Genge’s yard and garden. Several United Churches in Oshawa hosted a benefit concert to raise money for a van that might be needed to get Andrew around. Friends of Andrew and the family flooded into the critical care unit, and every day for the four months that Andrew was in Bloorview, five of his friends came every day.
Andrew is now at home in his last year of high school and doing well, although he has some lingering mobility and speech challenges as a result of the stroke.
Susan reflects that the response she learned the dark day of Andrew’s accident ‘God is good, all the time’ became her constant mantra and one that she continues to say and to believe with her whole heart.
In this season of Epiphany, may we open our hearts to trust that the light of Christ shines through whatever our darkness may be. And may we affirm the light in our own lives by shining with God’s goodness and grace, as together we find a way forward in hope amid the challenges of this world. Arise, shine, for your light is come. Amen.
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