'LIFT UP YOUR EYES': Moving out of the darkness
Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you… Lift up your eyes and look around... Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice…They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
Isaiah 60:1,2,4a,5a,6b
By Rev. Canon Val Kenyon
AS WE ENTER this season of the great light and the coming of the wise ones, we hear in the words of Isaiah a challenge to his people to move out of the darkness in which they found themselves, and into the brilliance of God’s new day. For in Isaiah’s time, the children of Israel found themselves, dwelling in the thick darkness of Babylonian exile; they found themselves strangers in a foreign land; they found their temple destroyed, their homeland invaded, and themselves swimming in a sea of chaos, despair and darkness.
Isaiah did not deny this darkness; his acknowledgement of it was quite clear. More often than not, darkness is the place from which we start. And what exactly is his encouragement from this place of darkness?
“Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Isaiah’s point is a simple one. While the darkness may be thick, even very thick at times, it is not a complete darkness. And as we have all likely experienced, it does not take a great deal of light to break into the darkness. If we can believe that the light is shining, somewhere, it just remains for us to look for it, or as Isaiah encourages us, to “Lift up your eyes and look around”.
Isaiah tells us if we can take this advice then we will see and we will be radiant; and our hearts shall thrill and rejoice!
If we give ourselves to looking for that light, for that presence of God in and around us, working through us and working through others, a gift awaits us, no less important than the gifts of the magi to the Christ Child. For as we begin to move in the direction of God’s light, we are gifted with the question of just how we might also participate in carrying something of that light into our world.
During this season of the shining of the great star into the darkness, a brilliant, expansive season of hope that makes clear God’s embracing of all the peoples of the earth, Education for Ministry sessions continue to meet and encourage one another to “lift their eyes”, to catch a glimpse of where and how God’s light is shining in their lives and in the lives of their communities. They, each in their own way, set themselves like those searchers of so long ago, to find the one beneath that shining star, hopeful that God’s light will ultimately confound the darkness and that love in the end will triumph.
Interested in learning more about these Education for Ministry session?
Please reach out to Libi Clifford the Diocese of Huron EfM Coordinator or myself, Val Kenyon at EFM@huron.anglican.ca and watch for future in-person and virtual Open Houses.
Rev. Canon Dr. Val Kenyon is EFM Animator in Huron.