See and be Radiant

Sermon Isaiah 60:1-6 January 6, 2019 Epiphany, Communion

See and be Radiant

The people are in retreat, living in exile, away from all they know, when Isaiah writes these words of hope.

The words are strong.

They are powerful.

The words make us act and

do not let us think about anything

but responding to them.

Arise! Shine! Your light has dawned.

There is no room for reflection. There is no room for sorrow.

There is no room for what is-but only room for what is commanded-Arise! Shine!

I wonder about times that demand a look to the stars. Times that call us to rise up. Times that call us to be aware of the Presence of the Lord upon us.

Would we respond to these words of praise and words of worship, words of glory and words of joy?

Or do we dwell in the darkness of times and refuse to be lifted out of it even for a moment?

Some would scoff at the idea of ringing in the wonder and awe of the presence of God in moments of history where there has been turmoil, injustice, horror, pain, tragedy, and worse, great loss.

Think of history here in this nation of the stock market crash, the depression, the civil war, the fight for independence. All those moments in history where the people were divided in allegiances, where they were divided in ethics, where they were divided in principles. There has always been moments of conflict and turmoil.

Perhaps, it is these moments that are the darkest for us.

These moments when the world around us, and the community in which we live, and the way of our own lives, are caught in indecision, caught in a disruption of what we know. When the way is not clear, when the answers are not easy, when the situations have no simple outcome, perhaps these are really our dark times.

It is in these times we beg for clarity. It is in these times we would appreciate some sudden insight or understanding.

It is in these times we need Epiphany. The Presence of the Lord shone upon us!

Isaiah offers the people in exile more than hope. He proclaims a promise. He provides them with a command of God’s promise.

Sometimes when we face trauma we need an outside source to direct our ways because we are unsteady on our feet.

There are times when the power of God comes to us through the wisdom of others who walk with us holding us and helping our feet move forward.

God gave Isaiah a proclamation to tell the people to rise, shine for the presence of the Lord has risen upon you. And what a wonderful way to start the New Year with a proclamation such as this!

For the magi, otherwise known as the men of wisdom-Wise Men, there was a moment when the important truth of the prophecy came clear and they were propelled to discover this truth as they followed a star to Bethlehem.

Their response to the truth revealed to them is our revelation of truth too.

God has been revealed to all people of all nations and no one is excluded, all are invited to the presence of God.

Actually, the presence of God shines within all humanity.

Wow.

If that is true,

then we may begin to see one another differently.

If that is true,

then even those whose principles and ethics are different from mine deserve to be heard-

if God’s light shines in them

and God’s light shines in me…

then perhaps a moment of clarity can come to each of us…

So, on this celebration of Epiphany, what is the truth that God is proclaiming in us today?

What truth do we need to suddenly become clear to us?

What sudden insight or understanding can we look to God to shine down upon us?

The Tanak (the Jewish Bible in contemporary English) describes the words in verse 5 this way-

As you behold-you will glow, your heart will throb and thrill.

I love these words and I honestly believe these words are for us today.

We need to hear the proclamation from Isaiah and believe it is for us.

We will glow and our hearts will thrill and rejoice.

Again, you may think this is frivolous thinking.

Perhaps, you may think this is something to scoff at because it is an idea beyond where you, I, or we are in this moment.

But, I have this crazy belief in the truth of God’s words for us and I dare share that with you today.

You may be here today hoping for a check list,

or a task list,

or a guide book with instructions on how to actually live this out.

But, we don’t have a 1,2,3, schedule for us today.

We don’t have the usher, acolyte, mission, brush your teeth version of duties to put the promise of God’s truth in practical practice.

It would be great if we could walk out of here with a list of dos and don’ts.

If only church didn’t make us think and just told us what to do.

If only church would just tell us what to memorize for the heaven test and not put us on a journey of faith.

If only church would give us stickers we could put on the people we can like and not like instead of telling us all the time that God loves everybody-that’s just too hard.

But, the crazy truth of God’s words is that they do come down to us and shine on us and we are stuck with that and well…there it is…

We are God’s people bound together through the love of God sent to us in Christ.

God’s light is upon us and we cannot escape it.

Therefore, as we learn to live into this light, we grow brighter together, and we grow stronger for those around us.

God’s act in us is to build,

to restore,

to bring together.

Our aha and our epiphany is to recognize God has provided us with all we need to accomplish God’s act in this place.

As we move into the newness of 2019, we can move into this year with confidence that God is with us in every minute of it.

We do not need to be afraid of the things that will transpire.

Each of us will glow!

Know the truth that the

Presence of the Lord has shone upon you.

See and be radiant.

The nations will walk by your light.

Shine, dear friends, shine!

I close today with this poem from Jan Richardson as she says it best:

Constellation: A Blessing for Women’s Christmas

Consider that the heart holds its own constellation.

Consider that it has a secret chamber radiant with unspent light.

Consider this when you cannot find that one star,

that dream that compels you to the road.

When every last thing seems to have disappeared into dark,

consider that you cannot always know how you bear this brightness

but that it holds you and is not wasted or lost.

See how we share this sky,

how it stretches above us beyond every border,

how every day turns each of us in steady revolution through morning, night, morning again.

Or think of it like this:

that every heart is its own voyage,

sending its vessels out,

drawing them back again,

never by the same way they went

but still somehow making for home,

that place that shimmers now in welcome

with all the gathered light you had thought you could not see. Amen.