Arise, shine, for your Light has come!



What a gorgeous day this has been!  After Sunday and Monday being gloomy, this morning was a breath of fresh air.  The light came streaming in my window this morning, making it easy to get up and meet the new day.  In my errand run, I couldn’t help it. I drove out to Point Mugu to watch the ocean for a few minutes.



Did you know we are officially in the middle of Bright Week?  The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Bright Week for a full week after Easter, ending with Orthodox Easter the following Sunday, and the whole week is treated as a single day.



Imagine the Light from the Risen Christ presiding over everything we do for a whole week.  That sounds like a real celebration to me!

We usually read this verse from Isaiah 60 at Christmas time, but when I read it in the context of Easter, the prophecy fairly jumped off the page!
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1) 
The glory of the Lord IS RISEN upon us!  Think about that for a minute.  The Son was glorified at the Resurrection, but Isaiah includes us in that!  Christ’s Glory in rising from the dead has risen on us!  Now that’s exciting!



David tells us that God is Light.  He said:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid? (Ps 27:1)

David knew we needed God’s Light to see clearly:
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light. (Ps 36:7-9)

John echoes David’s declaration in John 1:9 :  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.



No one is beyond His reach.  When Jesus came into the world, His Light was on every person.  And when He left the world, He died for the world.  Do you remember when His Light shone on you for the first time— those penetrating rays of light that awakened you to His presence and His love for you?  How old were you?  What details do you remember?  

Now imagine what it would be like to have that happen to everybody you know.  Think what a ‘light’ place this would be!

Jesus declares Himself to be the Light of the World (John 8:12), and then calls us the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).  Paul tells us to do all things well to inspire those around us because we “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14,15).   Like Father, like children.  We not only reflect His light, but because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we actually generate His light from within us.



In this Bright Season following the Resurrection, let’s not cover the Light with a bushel basket or let Satan snuff it out.  

Arise! Shine!  Your Light has come!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How On Earth Do We Shine?

Image
How on earth do we shine?  Or maybe we should ask, “How do we shine on Earth?”  It sounds so esoteric.  Can you see the image in your minds eye?   Something out of a science fiction movie where the main character is transformed into a glowing version of himself.   Kind of like ET. Lately I have had several power outages.  SCE has decided that anytime the wind blows, they need to turn off the power, which also turns off our water, since the well runs on electricity.  The only thing that will run the well pump is a giant generator.  Edison will pay for batteries to run the house, and solar energy, but none of those can run the well pump as it goes on and off all day.  They don’t pay for generators.  We’re working on this dilemma.  I’m really tired of running on candle and flashlight power, so I’m also exploring their battery option for the house. Just for now, let’s imagine a lantern.  Like Diogenes, who looked fo...
Read more

REBELLION!

Image
We all rebel.   Oh, we cloak it in softer words—  We resist.  We avoid. We individuate. We differentiate.  We refuse.  We run away.  We talk back. We protest. We riot. We don’t believe. What is a two-year old’s favorite word?   NO! During our development as a child we need to define our separateness from our parents.  That’s part of being the individual God made us to be.  But the seed of Sin infiltrates that plan, entangling itself with the God-given design of differentiation and individuation, and begins to twist the strands together until it becomes difficult to see where one leaves off and the next begins. While we are designed to be an individual who becomes one with God and each other, we start into the sketchy realm of sin when that individuation becomes disconnection and aggression.  Unlike the sinless Lamb of God who gave Himself over to sin for us, we talk about our rights and  what we are entitled to . ...
Read more

God, We Need You...Every Hour!

Image
God, We Need You.. Every Hour! I NEED GOD.  Wow, do I ever need Him.!  It seems like more everyday.  This week I was made aware of how much tension I was holding over a couple of alpaca issues.  Both of them resolved very positively, and I was amazed at the extreme feeling of relief that followed both situations.  It really surprised me.  It makes me wonder what else is bubbling beneath the surface that I'm not aware of.  Yet. The really good news, though, is that in whatever situation I find myself, I am not alone.  (And neither are you, by the way).    I am so thankful that God in Christ is with me ALL THE TIME.  He doesn’t sleep or take coffee breaks or run errands, so He is here with me even when I am not aware of Him . Raise your hand if you get distracted and lose sight of His presence with you sometimes…  (mine is high in the air!) Do you find yourself asking to God to “be with” someone?...
Read more