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Rise and Shine
Isaiah 60:1-6

     “Rise and shine” is something my kids have heard me say for many years now.   I will stick my head in their bedroom and say it because their beeping (or blaring) alarms have been repeatedly set on snooze.  If my initial chirpy greeting doesn’t rouse them, they know they’ll be subjected to my amplified version of “Rise and Shine”.  It’s the refrain from the children’s song about Noah called “Arky, Arky”. 
     I will quietly approach the mound of blankets hiding my grown children, and sing:
“Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory
Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory
Children of the Lord.”      
This exuberant chorus has long proven effective! The thick layer of bed covers is flung back and my kids emerge from their warm, dark cocoon of bliss.  Shortly thereafter they get a cup of coffee, just about the time folks generally get up to eat brunch! 
     What my kids may not realize is that their mom is quoting Scripture in the  morning - it comes from Isaiah 60.  Today I’ll share what the prophet Isaiah meant when he said, “Rise and Shine,” and we’ll also explore how that message is relevant for us, and for the church today.  
     Isaiah wrote his message 700 years before Jesus’ birth.  His entire nation was living through miserable, dark days as captives in Babylon. Their bleak circumstances weighed them down; they’d lost their land and homes, their jobs and place of worship, plus their freedom.  As they lived muted lives, God’s servant Isaiah gathered them and buoyantly said, “Rise and shine, for your Light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
     He shared many amazing details from a vision God gave him about their future, explaining how the Lord would break through their darkness with His Light.    Perhaps some in the crowd felt sorely tempted to go back to bed and pull the covers over their head.  It is hard to rekindle hope once it lost.  But most listened to God’s prophet; they opened their ears and were stirred awake.  They saw the bright, good, and hopeful future Isaiah described and believed God’s promises.     
     Have you ever had a pair of blackout curtains and opened them, only to be  dazzled by the brilliant sunlight streaming in through the window?  You probably shielded your eyes with your hand - blinked several times as your eyes watered and you adjusted to the sudden change.  The brilliant hope that shone down on the Israelites’ situation through Isaiah’s vision must have felt much the same way.   God’s majesty, power, and reign was going to break through and touch all of them.  And it did! 
     We in the church are about to enter a season we call Epiphany: this is when we look and listen for the times and places God’s Light has broken and still is breaking into our ordinary lives.  As dark and difficult as 2020 was for you, can’t you recall people who felt like sunshine in your life, and experiences that cheered you through your dismal days?   Right about now most of us are packing up colorful ornaments and lights, crèches, and cookie cutters, but don’t think that the illumination we savored is gone.  God’s Son is freshly on the scene.  Isaiah 59:20 says “For those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
      Is the light of your life Jesus Christ?  He said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of life.” Once Christ is our Savior, His light enters us and we are no longer held captive by our sins.  Darkness is banished, and death is defeated.  
     But for far too many people in our community and country, life doesn’t feel bright at all – but gloomy.   With COVID spiking, limited sources of income, uncertainty about school and daycare, concern for family members and much more, folks feel anxious, helpless, and hopeless.  These are dismal times when it is easy to feel isolated and adrift.
      Sometime people search out help for their practical needs, and they get the food or funding to get through the week or the month, but it is still life on the edge.  But there are intangible needs of the soul that are unmet as well.   People cannot make it without a sense of hope - they need a source of joy.   They need to be in caring relationships with others.  They need a relationship with Jesus Christ.   
     You and I are being called to rise up.  That means we refuse to be passive.  We won’t be lazy and waste the days and hours of our lives.  And we are to shine as well!   That means we open our eyes to see those who walk in darkness and figure out how we can let the rays of God’s light and love shine on their lives and circumstances.  Not only does Isaiah say to us, “Rise and Shine,” people of God, so does Paul in Ephesians 2:9.  He said, “You are God’s workmanship, created by Christ for good works.” 
     We just lit the fifth and final Advent candle 10 days ago, the Christ Candle.  It reminds us that Jesus is the only true source of light and life in this world.  As His followers, we are filled with His Light and love.
     It is our task to “bear” or bring that Light to others, inviting them out of their darkness and into God’s circle of light.  We should open the circle and incorporate each new person into that illuminated sphere we call Christ’s Church.  That is what I see for our church in this New Year.   We have a message for people sitting in darkness, felling hopeless and isolated.  We need to deliver the Good News about Jesus Christ in ways that are audible and visible, that are in person and across the miles, and the time is now.  We need to RISE and SHINE and be Christ’s Light.
     I want to end with a poem written by Mike Breaux called “Let There be Light”:
To the orphan and widow,
Let there be light.
 
To the homeless and the hurting,
Let there be light
 
To the dealer and the addict,
Let there be light
 
To the abuser and the abused,
Let there be light.
 
To the unemployed and underemployed,
Let there be light.
 
To the broken - to whom cruel words were spoken,
Let there be light.
 
To the prodigal that wanders and the father who waits,
Let there be light
 
To the depressed and anxious,
Let there be light.
 
To the wounded and weary,
Let there be light.

 
Friends in Christ, the light of the world has come.   It’s time for us to rise and shine, so darkness is dispelled, and many come into the circle of light and life found in Jesus and His church.   Amen.   

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