Isaiah 60:1-6 - Rise and Shine - January 7, 2018

“Rise and shine!” If that phrase doesn’t make you cringe; if it doesn’t make you want to reflexively throw something at the door and yell “get out!” – well, I have to break it to you: you’re one of those obnoxiously cheerful morning people that the rest of us resent. “Rise and shine” usually implies a burden; get up and make breakfast, go to school, go to work – or at the very least, put some clothes on. Well, at the risk of being too cheerful this early on a Sunday morning, I – following the lead of the prophet Isaiah – want to encourage you to “rise and shine.”

When Isaiah wrote these words – roughly 700 years before Jesus’ birth – they weren’t just annoying, they were shocking and virtually unbelievable. The people of Israel heard these words as they were living under the dark storm clouds of war and the gloomy shadow of exile in Babylon. These people were miserable, they were brooding, they had resigned themselves to live in captivity and then die. And Isaiah has the gall to come along and say “rise and shine!” Why? Why should they look up from the misery of their exile? Why should they rise and shine when everything – their land, their temple, their freedom, their homes – had been taken from them? Because the long-promised Messiah – the Christ, the Savior – will come! He will come in spite of the storms and shadows, the gloom and doom that swirled around them. The people of Israel could rise and shine in spite of their present circumstances because God had promised to send a Savior to rescue them from their circumstances.

Clearly we live in a different day and age than the people Isaiah first wrote to. But isn’t it true that storms and shadows, gloom and doom still fill our world and lives in 2018? Short days and bitter cold keep us locked indoors. Trials and troubles still disrupt our lives. Wars and rumors of wars still paint the headlines. Immorality and hostility to the Christian faith are on the rise. Ignorance of Scripture – of even the most basic Biblical truths – is at an epidemic level in our land. It’s very easy to become resigned and depressed. We need Isaiah’s encouragement just as much as the Israelites did to: Rise and Shine; see the Son shining on you; see the darkness all around you; see the nations being drawn to you.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. If Christmas marks the incarnation, the appearance and birth of God on earth; then Epiphany marks the revealing of that baby as the Son of God and Savior of the world. This revelation sent shockwaves to the ends of the earth. The evidence is found in our Gospel lesson, where some Magi, or wise men, from the East, rose up, left their homes and families and traveled hundreds of miles to Israel to worship the one who had been born king of the Jews. (Matthew 2:2)

Perhaps because of the influence of the famous carol We Three Kings, people tend to get bogged down in the details – or lack thereof – of the Magi’s visit. How many Magi were there? Tradition says three; Scripture doesn’t say. How old was Jesus when they came to see him in Bethlehem? Herod assumed he was two or younger (Matthew 2:16); but again, the Bible doesn’t tell us. How did the wise men get to Bethlehem? Did they ride camels, horses, or donkeys? What kind of animals should we have in our nativity scenes? Well, apart from the fact that the wise men and their animals shouldn’t be in our nativity scenes (different time & place!) – does it really matter? Or, maybe most mysterious of all: what was the star they saw? Was it a comet, a super nova, a convergence of planets, or something miraculous? People want to know; the Bible doesn’t tell us. There’s a lot we don’t know about the Magi – but we shouldn’t let the unknown overshadow the wonderful things Scripture does tell us.

We do know that the sole focus of Magi was on finding the newborn King of the Jews. We do know that they made the very best use of the talents God had given them as astronomers. We do know that they dropped everything to come and worship this king. We do know that they weren’t like those people who make a last minute stop at Walgreens to pick up a last-minute gift, they brought the very best they had: gold, incense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11) (Just as Isaiah had prophesied.) We know that the wise men used everything they had to worship God’s Son: their time, treasures, and talents – but that’s not what made them wise. What made them wise? They were wise because they followed this mysterious star to Jerusalem where they heard, perhaps for the first time, the prophecy from Micah that said the King of the Jews would be born in Bethlehem of Judea, they believed the Biblical prophecy, and they went to worship this newborn king. The light of faith had dawned in the hearts of these Magi – making them truly wise.

Isaiah still calls to us today: arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. Unlike an annoyingly cheerful wake-up call, Isaiah isn’t calling us to do something. He’s calling us to receive something. To receive, with the Magi, the gift of God’s Son, the world’s Savior. Just consider: Why was Jesus born into this world? He was born for you – to be your substitute under the strict demands of God’s Law. (Galatians 4:5) Why did Mary and Joseph name him Jesus? He came to save his people – you – from your sins. (Matthew 1:21) Jesus didn’t come to demand something from you; he came to shine light into your darkness – whether that’s the darkness of an emotional low after the high of Christmas; the darkness of sickness or disease; or the gloom of the meaninglessness that seems to fill so many of our days. The special good news of Epiphany is that Jesus didn’t come only to give joy and life and light to the people of Israel; he came for Easterners like the Magi, Roman citizens like the Ephesians; and 21st century Americans like us. Christmas was only 13 days ago, but as you look around, it’s easy to wonder if it made any difference at all. The trees are already on the brush pile, the gifts are returned, the joy is packed away for another year. Epiphany helps us get the most out of Christmas; it reveals that this baby came to save you! Rise and shine and see it: see the Son of God shining on you – and he has brought you the best gift of all: salvation!

But this good news has the greatest impact when we clearly see the reality in which we live. Isaiah goes on: see, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples. Isaiah isn’t talking about short days and long, cold nights; he’s talking about sin. He’s saying that the world is blanketed with sin. He uses the same word Moses used in Exodus 10 to describe how the plague of locusts “covered” the land of Egypt prior to the Exodus. (Exodus 10:15) Just like those locusts invaded every corner of the land, disrupted people’s lives and destroyed their crops – so sin invades every corner of our world and disrupts and destroys every aspect of our lives. Sin covers. Sin consumes. Sin destroys. This suffocating blanket of sin threatens to block out the light of Christ, to leave us standing in the fog of unbelief, to land us in the eternal darkness of hell.

The insidious nature of sin is that it can even cover up and infect those whose faith ought to be burning most brightly. Did you notice in our Gospel lesson that the chief priests and teachers of the law could quote Micah 5:2 at the drop of a hat, but – in their unbelief – had no interest in seeing if it had actually been fulfilled? They knew that the promised Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem – but, while the Magi had put their lives on hold and traveled hundreds of miles to see this Savior, they weren’t willing to travel 6 or 7 miles to see him – let alone worship him. These were smart men. They knew their Old Testaments better than we ever will. They had the temple rituals memorized. But they were spiritually lazy and apathetic. They went through the motions, but it never struck their hearts. They were so convinced of their inherent goodness that they had no interest in a Savior from sin.

Do you know anyone like those high priests and teachers of the law – lazy and indifferent concerning Christ? See it for what it is: it’s the darkness of sin. It’s not something to play around with. It’s not something to excuse or condone. It’s nothing less than unbelief. And it manifests in several ways – even here, even among those whose faith should be burning most brightly. We see it when there are faces in church on Christmas Eve that won’t be here until next Christmas. We see it when those who have been baptized, instructed, and confirmed in the faith fall away before the ink on their confirmation certificate is dry. We see it when work or family or recreation takes priority over worship and Bible study. We see it when the slightest excuse will keep us from worshipping our Christmas King – a sniffle, a late night, a couple inches of snow, a warm, cozy bed – but the same excuses would never keep us from going to work or gathering with family or catching the game. Beware of the creeping darkness of religious indifference and spiritual laziness and complacency. The truth is: It’s not always convenient to take the time for Bible study and prayer; it’s not always easy to rise and shine to sit at Jesus’ feet and worship. So what? It wasn’t particularly convenient for Jesus to be born in a stable in Bethlehem, to flee for his life to Egypt, to live and work and grow in this hostile world, to be nailed to a cross on Calvary and suffer the bitter torment on hell – but he did it anyway, for you! Rise and shine! Let the light of our Savior’s Epiphany expose and abolish the darkness all around you – and, perhaps, even lurking within you.

Rise and shine and celebrate this Epiphany. See Epiphany as your personal visit to your Savior’s cradle – because, Isaiah says, that’s what it is: lift up your eyes and look about you; all assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Isaiah is pointing his first readers ahead to something they could never have imagined…to what? To us! We are the real, living, walking, talking fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. We are part of the nations that have come from afar to become members of God’s holy people – the Holy Christian Church. We are from different nationalities: Germans, Swedes, Norwegians, French, Polish, Hispanic, Asian – the list could go on. But we have Christ in common. We have different occupations: mothers and engineers, financial advisors and painters, business managers and delivery drivers. But we have Christ in common. We are from different generations: the silent, the boomers, the Xers, the millennials. But we all have Christ in common. We are wise men and women because God has shined the light of faith into our hearts. We confess one Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Father who is over all and in all. We trust one Savior from sin. We are one in mission. We look forward to one eternity. (Ephesians 4:6)

And now it is our privilege – a privilege that ought to make our hearts throb and swell with joy – to reflect the light of Christ to new nations, new nationalities, new generations. Just lift up your eyes to see it! Scan the Forward in Christ and listen to the monthly WELS Connection detail how the Gospel is being carried to the ends of the earth on your behalf and as the result of your prayers and offerings. Hear the crying babies right here at Risen Savior and see Isaiah’s prophecy being carried out right in our midst. Look around you at the people work with and live with – which of them could use a little Gospel light to brighten their gloom? See how generously God has blessed us that we are not only well over half-way to our goal for Building Our Great Heritage but were also able to bring our best to lay at the manger in the Christmas Gift for Jesus. I know we’re tempted to think that these words from Isaiah are hyperbole or describe some ancient, foreign scene or are reserved only for those churches that have huge buildings and superstar pastors and thousands of members and dozens of programs going on. But Isaiah begs you to lift your eyes to see that his words are being fulfilled right here, in us and through us. I hope you can see – as I get to every week – that when we keep the main thing the main thing – when we preach and teach God’s Word in its truth and purity and practice the sacraments in accordance with Christ’s command, God’s promise is not an empty platitude: [my Word] will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11) God is keeping his promise, right here, right now. Rise and shine this Epiphany. Lift your eyes to see how your Savior’s light is drawing the nations – along with their children and the wealth of the world – to you!

Epiphany – the day that Christ is revealed as the light, not just of Israel, but of the world – is a call for us to rise and shine. To first see God’s Son shining upon us with forgiveness and salvation; to see – and beware – of the darkness that is all around us; to see the nations the light of Christ is drawing to us. Rise and shine; receive and believe – a Savior has been born to you he is Christ the LORD! Amen.