ADVENT THEME: JOY
The candle we light for Joy is also known as the Shepherd Candle, because of the joy given to the shepherds by the angels (Luke 2:8-20). When Jesus was born, it was announced as “good tidings that brings great joy.” Jesus was a gift of God incarnate that brought joy into the world; Paul would later write that joy is also a gift from God’s Spirit into us. Because of this, we can say that we are “full of sorrow, and yet rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).
Jesus once said, “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22) So if you were to ask me how to find joy, I would say that joy is given by God the Father through the Holy Spirit, but joy is found in the person and presence of Jesus. See Jesus. And that’s what we are going to do today.
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Advent Ends In The Light
December 20, 2020
I discovered chickens cannot see in the dark when I heard one of my bantams squawking loudly from the shed. When I went out, it was fine. It just couldn’t find its buddies, who were about 5 feet away in a part of the shed that was very dark. So now, during the day, I turn on a light. Happy chickens. My chickens need light so that the darkness does not paralyze and terrify them. Simple thing, chickens. Stay with me. I’m establishing patterns J
As a kid, I longed for light in the darkness. I was terrified of the night. I took a running leap into bed; I quivered under the covers. But turn on a night light or leave a door open so some light could get in, I was good. I needed light so that all the imagined fears that could take place in the darkness were dispelled by the light.
When you have endured a week of gloomy winter, nothing beats a sunny day. I don’t care how cold it is. The whole world feels better. I’ve been known to roll my window down on sunny days when the temp is in the 20s. You start showering again, and think, “Maybe I should start exercising and not eat pancakes every day as a snack.”
“Light to dark” is an image we know. It’s a pattern ingrained in so many things in the world. No wonder it’s a pattern we see in the Bible constantly, starting in Genesis 1, almost as if God masterminded the whole thing. J
· The initial command “Let there be light!” was a hint: This God does not settle for darkness.When darkness settles on the deep, the Spirit of God moves.
· It was “while shepherds watched their flocks by night” that the glory of the Lord shone around them. This God will not be announced without dispelling some darkness.
· When the Wise Men from the east needed a sign– the east, the land “East of Eden” (another motif from Genesis for those far from the presence of God) - they were given a light in a dark sky to guide them to the Light of the World, “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.” (John 1:9) This God will make a way for those who live in darkness.
Any advent or arrival in which God is involved may begin in darkness, but it ends in light.
I am fascinated this year by how the Bible establishes the darkness into which Jesus arrived before introducing the light of his apocalypse (“unveiling”). I think it’s probably the case that our appreciation of the light correlates with how profound the darkness was into which it was introduced. Let’s see why God’s people longed for the light before the first Advent of Jesus, and then we will look at our own lives.
Isaiah 58: A Timeless Oracle For The People Of God
Eternal One: Tell My people about their wrongdoing…hold nothing back: [my people] have failed to do what is right…They pretend to want to learn what I teach, as if they are indeed a [people] good and true, as if they hadn’t really turned their backs on My directives. They even ask Me, as though they care, about what I want them to be and do, as if they really want Me in their lives.
People: Why didn’t You notice how diligently we fasted before You? We humbled ourselves with pious practices and You paid no attention.
Eternal One: I have to tell you, on those fasting days, all you were really seeking was your own pleasure; besides, you were busy defrauding people and abusing your workers… Is a true fast simply some religious exercise for making a person feel miserable and woeful? Is it about how you bow your head (like a bent reed), how you dress (in sackcloth), and where you sit (in a bed of ashes)? Is this what you call a fast, a day the Eternal One finds good and proper?
This isn’t looking good at all. If I can summarize: “Hey, God! How are we doing down here? Check out our fasting!?”[1] God: “It’s disgusting. It sickens me.” Okay…. However, Isaiah has what looks like good news: a solution!
No, what I want in a fast is this: to liberate those tied down and held back by injustice, to lighten the load of those heavily burdened, to free the oppressed and shatter every type of oppression. A fast for Me involves sharing your food with people who have none, giving those who are homeless a space in your home, giving clothes to those who need them, and not neglecting your own family.
Excellent. There is a plan. There are action steps. And now, here comes some light!
Then, oh then, your light will break out like the warm, golden rays of a rising sun; in an instant, you will be healed. Your rightness will precede and protect you; the glory of the Eternal will follow and defend you. Then when you do call out, “My God, Where are You?” The Eternal One will answer, “I am here, I am here.”
If you remove the yoke of oppression from the downtrodden among you, stop accusing others, and do away with mean and inflammatory speech, if you make sure that the hungry and oppressed have all that they need, then your light will shine in the darkness, and even your bleakest moments will be bright as a clear day...
That sound really good! But, uh, notice the “if”. If you do these things, your righteousness will be amazing. Let’s keep reading.
Isaiah 59
Your persistent wrongdoing has come between you and your God; since you constantly reject and push God away He had to turn aside and ignore your cries... Their thoughts are bent toward injustice; destruction and trouble line the roads of their lives.8 They never travel the path of peace; no justice is found where they have been. They set a course down crooked roads; no one who follows their lead has a chance of knowing peace.
Well, I think that’s pretty clear. It didn’t happen. It looks like they can’t light up the world with their own righteousness. In hindsight, that’s obvious, but don’t we wrestle with that same sense of capability? How many times do we think we can clean up our lives and this world on our own?
· “If you can control your attitude with the customers and get here on time, your job will be safe.”
· “Oh, yeah. I got this.”
· ”If you can curb your addictions, your marriage will survive and maybe even flourish.”
· “You got it.”
· “If you can just bounce your eyes, that porn problem will go away.”
· “Done.”
· “If you figure out your identity in Christ, that depression, shame negative self-talk, anxiety, loneliness will go away.”
· “Commencing self-help.”
“If…” It’s such a loaded word. “If you can do that, all will be well.” Isn’t this a lesson every Christian has to learn? If our righteous effort is what it takes to fix us, we are in trouble. The people of Israel figured it out.
People: That’s why we can’t make things right; good and true can’t gain any ground on us. We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around. We are left to stumble along, grabbing at whatever seems solid, like the blind finding their way down a strange and threatening street. In broad daylight—when we should have sight—we stumble and fall as in the dark. We are already like the dead among those brimming with health. We growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope that maybe, just maybe, it will all turn out right; But it doesn’t. We look for liberation, but it’s too far away.
So far, it sounds a bit like complaining: “Do you see what you’ve given us to work with? This world is a hard and terrible place, and “we are left to stumble alone.” But then there is a very important turn….
For our wrongdoing runs too deep before You. Our sins stack up against us—sure evidence of our guilt. For our offenses are always with us; they are insidious and lasting, as You know. Our guilt says it all. We know it, too. We took You for nothing, and did just the opposite of Your commands. We broke our promises to You, ignored and rejected You.
We hatched up schemes to oppress others and rebel, to twist the truth for our gain while presenting it as honest-to-God fact. When justice calls, we turn it away. Righteousness knows to keep its distance, for truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty is not allowed to enter. There is no truth-telling anymore, and anyone who tries to do right finds he is the next target.
Now, Isaiah steps out of the dialogue and makes an observation about how God responds to what started as a complaint and ends as a confession. I think this is key. What starts as self-justification – “God, listen, have you seen the kind of world you’ve given us?” turns into repentance: “Our sins stack up against us…we are the problem in the world.”
It’s the only “if/then” scenario that has power. “If my people humble themselves and repent.” It’s not us fixing our brokenness. It’s us submitting to God’s work. back to Isaiah.
It’s true. The Eternal One saw it all and was understandably perturbed at the absence of justice. God looked long and hard, but there wasn’t a single person who tried to put a stop to the injustice and lies. So God took action. His own strong arm reached out and brought salvation. His own righteousness—good and pure—sustained Him. But God’s equipment was that of no ordinary warrior: He strapped on righteousness as His breastplate, and put on the helmet of salvation. Wrapped in vengeance for clothing and passion as a cloak, God prepared for war.
Finally, God determined they must get what they’ve earned: fury to those who oppose Him, vengeance against those who are against Him. To the ends of the known world, God will go to render justice. This is how people from east to west will come to respect the name and honor the glory of the Eternal. For He will come on like a torrential flood driven by the Eternal’s winds. The Redeemer will come to make Zion right again, to rescue those of Jacob’s holy line who turn their backs on wrongdoing. This is what the Eternal One declares.
Okay, that’s good news and bad news. The good news is that God is going to bring justice. The bad news is that His own people have been the problem. But…the good news is that He is going to rescue those who turn back to him – and He is going to orchestrate this.[2]
Eternal One: This is My covenant promise to them: My Spirit, which rests on and moves in you, and My words, which I have placed within you, will continue to be spoken among you and move you to action. And not only you, but so it will be for your children and their children too.[3] And so on through the generations for all time.
And now we move into a classic paragraph that is often cited during Advent.
Isaiah 60
Arise, shine (“be in the light”; “become light”), for your light[4] has broken through! The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you. See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth; people all over are cloaked in darkness. But God will rise and shine on you; the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.
It’s reminiscent of the end of Malachi: “ But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.” (Malachi 4:2)
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“When the prophet says that’ that light is come,‘ he… sees in vision the Messiah… as pouring the light of salvation on a darkened church and world.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Whole Bible)
“In the midst of that distressing condition, Jehovah will arise upon Zion in the person of His Son; in Christ, the glory of God will be revealed.” (Coffmana’s Commentary On The Bible)
Oh! This is fantastic news! God Himself will be the light in the darkness.
It’s not just God moving into the world, but God moving into our hearts. Advent is more than an ‘unveiling’ in world history; it’s an arrival in our hearts. It’s personal. This is a story about light dispelling darkness, and that while that has profound implications for world history, it also has profound implications for your history. We are all coming out of darkness; we have all contributed the sinful brokenness of the world. Our wrongdoing runs deep too. But…..
Arise, shine, your light has broken through. The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you. 2 See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth; people all over are cloaked in darkness. But God will rise and shine on you; the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.
This is the joy of the first Advent. That healing and hope is available to all of us.
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But there is another part to it.
“…the church of God is… called upon to arise… [and] to shine forth in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty…and to diffuse this light to others…” John Gill’s Exposition On The Whole Bible)
That summons ("Arise, shine!”) is the inevitable result of the dawning of the light. When God is felt to be near [people] in penitence, love, and prayer, [they are]… bound to reflect the glory which has risen in their heart; to bear witness of the light which has pierced and transformed their soul… The glory of the Lord manifests itself in life… It is because the ‘glory of the Lord has risen upon [them],’ that Christians are able to reflect the light which has entered their souls.” E. L. Hull, Sermons
After God was unveiled to the world in the incarnate Jesus, and unveiled in the hearts of those who repent and embrace him as Lord and King, God’s people are unveiled to the world. It’s not because we are amazing. Nothing changed in terms of our ability to light up the world with our righteousness. What changed was our identity. We are now children of God, temples for the Holy Spirit. I love how Thomas Coke, English clergyman, first bishop of the Methodist Church, phrased it:
“Shew thy native beauty; suffer thyself to be so strongly illuminated by the glory of the Lord, that thou mayest be a light to others." [5]
I have this image of all the solar powered lights I have in my yard. They soak up the light during the day, so they can shine at night. And they don’t shine because they powered themselves up. They shine because the sun filled them with light.
Do you see this? There is a third apocalypse, a third unveiling taking place between the birth of Jesus and His return.
It’s his church.
Jesus is revealed through His church. “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and…..glorify your Father in heaven.”
So I am sobered and inspired this Advent season to think about how, between the first apocalypse in a manger that ushered in this present age, and a second that will wrap it up as Jesus is revealed as the Returning King, God plan was to have His Holy Spirit-filled followers be an apocalypse, an unveiling, that absorbs and points back to the light from the first one while shining and like illuminating signposts that point toward the second one.
We have the light of joy because true joy entered the world through the birth of the incarnate Savior. We ambassadors, filled by God’s Spirit and nourished by God’s Word, soak up this joyful light until it lights the darkness with our words, our attitudes, our actions, our lives. And we never stop telling everyone that He who has come will come again, and for those whom His light has filled, there will be joy unspeakable, and full of glory.
Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let every heart prepare Him room.
THREE THINGS FOR PONDERING OR DISCUSSING
If seeing the darkness for what it is makes the light more glorious, take some time to reminisce on 2020 (and perhaps further back) and mourn the darkness. See it for what it is. Feel it. Don’t look away.
Now….what does Jesus offer? What is the hope in front of us? How do the first and second advents shine into the darkness? What is holding us back from ‘arising, and shining’?
Pray. There are times that seeing the light feels soooo elusive. “We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around.” If you are in a group, share stories of God’s faithfulness in your lives, times when the light that seemed so elusive did indeed break through.
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[1] Malachi highlights how much God disliked their sacrifices (Malachi 3).
[2] As Malachi 3: 6; 16-18. “Return to me, and I will return to you…. Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
[3] Malachi says something very similar in the final verses of the Old Testament. God will eventually turn the hearts of the parents to the children, and the children to their parents.
[4] “I am the Light Of The World.” – Jesus, as recorded in John 8:12
[5] 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”