The Light is Here, Let's Go

January 2, 2022 Epiphany Sunday Isaiah 60:1-6 The Light is here, Let’s Go Year C Opening Song Welcome Invocation O Christ, pass through the doors of heaven into our presence. You were not created by the Most High to recline upon the clouds in the company of angels. You were fashioned to make your home among the creatures of God. God has chosen the place where you shall erect your tent. There we shall meet you. And where you go we shall go, and where you lodge we shall lodge. Your people shall be our people; your God, our God. Stewardship Moment Invitation to the Offering We have seen the light of the world. We have been called to follow the star of promise. Like the Magi, let us bring our gifts to honor the babe of Bethlehem and bring the light to all the dark places in our community and our world. Offertory Prayer God of this day and all days! We can only imagine the darkness of the world into which you sent your son – a world that believed that salvation rested on our ability to follow the rules. Jesus came to bring light into that darkness, and into our darkness. As we bring our tithes and offering to you this day, transform them into light for the hungry, for the hopeless, for the forgotten and the oppressed. We will share his light in us! In Christ, we pray. Amen. (John 1:(1-9), 10-18) Scripture Jerusalem’s coming radiance 60 Arise! Shine! Your light has come; the LORD’s glory has shone upon you. 2 Though darkness covers the earth and gloom the nations, the LORD will shine upon you; God’s glory will appear over you. 3 Nations will come to your light and kings to your dawning radiance. 4 Lift up your eyes and look all around: they are all gathered; they have come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters on caregivers’ hips. 5 Then you will see and be radiant; your heart will tremble and open wide, because the sea’s abundance will be turned over to you; the nations’ wealth will come to you. 6 Countless camels will cover your land, young camels from Midian and Ephah. They will all come from Sheba, carrying gold and incense, proclaiming the LORD’s praises. Sermon – The Light is here, Let’s go I have mentioned several times before, that it is always a challenge to know that theme to focus on for the first Sunday of January. Is it still Christmas, is it the New Year, is it epiphany. We just can’t cover everything. And even if I were to focus on the gospel lesson of the three kings, there is still a lot to cover. The lectionary scriptures for epiphany are always the same. I usually go with Isaiah 60 for this week. It is a lesson that we as the church have to be reminded of over and over again. The first line of Isaiah 60 – Arise! Shine! Your light has come! On a cold wintry day when the storms are raging outside and inside it is a message that we need to hear today. It is time to get up, to get to work, because all of the hope, the resources, the purpose that we have been waiting for is here. Isaiah needed to give that message to a nation that was overwhelmed with the work of rebuilding. Israel that of itself as the underdog. All of the nations around them had more people, more money, more power. They have been invaded and destroyed by these nations twice now. It actually took a strong king of another nation to have mercy on them and not destroy them, but let them go home. He even gave them the money to rebuild. Finally after years of praying to God they were free – but the task of getting back to normal seemed impossible. Until Isaiah reminds them to Arise Shine your light has come. The Christian church too has whethered a lot of storms. We too have to rebuild, we too are overwhelmed and wondering about resources and strength to do what needs to be done to move forward. Arise, Shine, your light has come. When I looked at this scripture this year, what stood out to me was that the light did not represent a great event, or a great celebration. After Isaiah’s words there was no great influx of resources or even a change in their situation. Isaiah was trying to tell them that the light they were looking for was God. God had been there all of the time. A customer service agent for a utility company in Rochester, New York, wrote about working during a horrible storm, when thousands of customers were without power and utility crews were working 16-hour days to repair the damage. One customer called the customer service line and complained about the power outage, then stopped raging long enough to ask, “How will I know when my lights are back on?” The customer service agent remained silent for a second, debating about the best way to answer such an obvious, even ridiculous question. How will you know when your lights are back on? Finally, she just said, “Um, it’ll be brighter than it is now.” The customer hung up on her. (5) Isaiah is telling us that the light has been there all along, we just have to see it. Epiphany is the oldest season of the church – it represent the time in our lives when we came to realize that God has been with us all along – we just didn’t realize it. Interestingly I learned last week that where ever there is electricity and light there is also magnetism. They go hand in hand. What is cool is that is the message of this passage. Light and magnetism. Isaiah’s second lesson is that as the people struggle to rebuild the kingdom of God, then other nations will be attracted to God and bring resources with them. The Luxor hotel was built in Las Vegas in 1993. It is a hotel and casino that is built like a pyramid. There is a single light beam that shines in the middle of it. That beam of light is actually the brightest light in the world – airplanes can see it for 257 miles away. Today, at sundown it only shines half strength and it is still the brightest light in the world. One thing that they discovered when they turned on the light – that it was a powerful attraction to moths. Moths from all over flock to the light. All of those moths attract bats. And all of those bats attract lots of owls. So now there is a whole new ecology surrounding the brightest light in the world. Of course there is a light brighter than the Luxor Sky beam and that light is Jesus Christ. And spiritually a lot of us Christians are like that lady calling Com Ed asking how will we know when the lights come back on. Many who heard Isaiah's summons surely responded, "What nonsense. How can I let my light shine?" "I've had a rough year." "I'm old and feeble." Or, "I'm young and restless." Besides, "I don't see any evidence of the deliverance of God." Perhaps there is someone here this morning who is of a like mind. You doubt that this can be a great year for you. You're too old for fantasies. Too cynical for fairy tales of better days ahead. Like many in Isaiah's audience, you see no evidence of the deliverance of God. Let me offer some items in evidence if I might--some reasons why you and I can have the best year ever. Here is why we are to arise and shine. The world is waiting for our witness. The world needs to see in us the truth of what we believe. Words are cheap. Too many people are trying to sell us that which they do not possess themselves. "Do you know," asks Maggie in her poem, "do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?" That is the cry of a world which is in "gross darkness," as the Scriptures put it. So this is our call for the new year. Arise, Shine. And when we do shine not only as individuals but as the family of Christ then the world will be a brighter, more inviting place. The light is not in us, it shines through us. As Isaiah reminds us again, "Arise, shine; for your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you" (v. 1). Reach for the Light. Christ, the Light of the world, shines now in and for you." In 1992 California educator Dr. Norvel Young took his family to the Olympics in Spain. It was exciting for them to see the best athletes from the nations of the world compete in gymnastics, diving, water polo, and track and field. Most of all, Dr. Young was thrilled to see the love and goodwill exhibited between outstanding representatives of the many nations. It's a small world after all, says Dr. Young, and the Olympics are an example of goodwill and hard work. As they entered the stadium for the closing ceremonies, Dr. Young and his family were given a packet of items, including a flashlight. After a thrilling program, including the best of Spain in every area, such as music by Placido Domingo, all the lights were extinguished. A hush moved over the vast audience; then a shout of "Ah!" The entire stadium was lighted as thousands of spectators turned on their individual flashlights. From darkness to light not because one person flipped a switch on some giant stadium floodlights, but because each member of the audience did their part by turning on their tiny, individual lights. It was a poignant and powerful moment one Dr. Young says he will never forget. He compares it to Neil Diamond concerts he has attended, when Diamond begins to sing in his gravelly voice, "Turn on your heart lights." And one by one, people in the audience turn on different kinds of small lights whatever they have with them flashlights, candles, lighters. By the end of the song, the darkness in the auditorium has been dispelled, and light is glowing warmly everywhere. (4) And that is our purpose in the new year. As Jesus said to us, "No one lights a candle and puts in under a bushel, but on a lampstand . . ." (Matthew 5:15) We are to move boldly into this new year, because the light of Christ floods our hearts, giving us hope and wholeness. And then we are to shine our light so that others may know that the light of Christ still shines into our world. The darkness has not overcome it. Dr. Wingeier was one of my professors in seminary, says that the book of Isaiah is a book of encouragement written over several centuries by several different people, intended to remind God’s chosen people of the times when God was there and they did not realize it. Isaiah reminds them of light and magnetism. If you look in the dictionary,” writes Pastor Scott Coltrain, “the first definition for ‘light’ is ‘something that makes vision possible.’ In other words, light makes it possible for us to see. Without light, we are hopelessly blind--blind to our surroundings, blind to our situations and circumstances, blind even to ourselves. Light makes it possible for us to see clearly--things as they really are. Isaiah also has a challenge for the people of God. And it is a very important choice that not everyone makes. The challenge is are we going to keep our blessings for ourselves or share them with others. Do we become a community that serves ourselves or others? Jesus makes that choice for us. The light is for everyone. There appear to be several significant factors present in healthy, vital, faithful congregations. Although there are many variables, one principal feature has emerged. This is the eagerness of members to share faith stories, their journey in the Light with one another and in their neighborhoods. Members eagerly share "Where Is God In All This?" stories for themselves and their congregations. They share them as part of committee and choir devotions, in temple talks during worship, in Sunday School classes, and in parish retreats. No, they are not "fanatics." They are just like you and me, struggling against the darkness that threatens to overcome us all. More than today's typical "sideline" Christian, these folks have let God become the subject of more verbs in their vocabularies. They have taken seriously Isaiah's call to arise, and shine, for they know that their Light, our Light, has indeed come. How did they develop this amazing power of witness? In each congregation opportunities were provided for persons to share, at whatever level they felt comfortable. And share they did. They described their own experiences of darkness and their own perceptions of seeing the light of Christ shine through. There was no gimmickry here. There were no terrific techniques for this. They simply took advantage of every possible opportunity. The Light did the rest. The Light beckons; we do not. The Light gathers in; we do not. You and I are not contagious; but the Light is. Share the Light. Reflect it to others who walk in darkness. Reflect it to those who wake in chaos. As Isaiah reminds us again, "Arise, shine; for your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you" (v. 1). Reach for the Light. Christ, the Light of the world, shines now in and for you." CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, Where Is God In All This, by Tony Everett Amen. Prayer Almighty God, as we consider your omnipotent power, we stand in awe. Called into your presence we can do nothing but join with all your people on earth and cry ‘Glory’ to your Name. You sit enthroned above all you have created, and you bless your people with peace. All praise to you this day and forever. You have promised your people that you would be with them in every trial of life. Too often we ignore your presence and rely upon our own strength. You count us as precious in your sight, and you have ransomed much for us. We do not act as honored people, and too often dishonor you. You have redeemed us, but we continue in our wayward paths. In your infinite mercy, O God, forgive and restore us to be your precious children. We have named before one another, and we name before you many, whose lives are in our hearts. In your power, give strength to those who are weakened by disease and injury. May your abiding presence comfort those who are alone. By your grace, attend those who are passing through the doorway of death. Hear now your people as we come to you in trust, for we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Timothy J. Crouch, OSL, Nancy B. Parks, OSL, Chris E. Visminas, Mark R. Babb, OSL, And Also With You: Worship Resources Based on the Revised Common Lectionary Year C, (OSL Publications, 1994), 25. Lord’s Prayer Song Lord of the Dance Celebration of Holy Communion Invitation to Communion (you don’t need to print all of this) This is Holy Communion for a Journey Sunday. It is the Second Sunday after Christmas, the Sunday three days after New Year, and three days before Epiphany, and, in the old song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” it is the ninth day – the day when the “gift” is nine people dancing. So come to this table of … one star for following, bread and cup for sharing, three days of New Year at least four still-traveling camels, and many, many hopes for the world. Come to this table, even if you want to be laying everything down because you are so weary of being fearful, isolated or essential to everyone but you. Come to this table if you are swimming in Zoom, virtual education, financial risk, or grief. Come to this table if you milked all the joy from Christmas – enough to carry you into 2021 … or not nearly enough. Come to this table, if you have stopped dancing, even though you are carrying many gifts, or you need to be healed by watching for the dance in snowflake or pohutukawa* in friend or stranger, in the old story of another path home, and the warm bread and sweet cup shared right now. Words of Remembering We remember in this New Year with the fearfulness of the pandemic and hope that it will be ended — not only the journey of the magi guided by a star, but all the oases where they rested and the people they met, who lived in those places, and shared their food. We remember a Child born to change everything and the endangerment of many children, and we remember that the baby named Jesus, grew up to help people in their hurting and loss, traveled as many roads as we do, and taught us with simple words we can understand, and stories we come to many times to find new meaning. At Passover he blessed unleavened bread. and poured wine and love freely. At Emmaus, he prayed and broke the bread, but sent us to find the cup in the world. Communion Page 13 Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook We pray for confidence to share your Word with others and for the opportunity to proclaim it. Forgive our reluctance, our timidity. We pray for wisdom to know what should be said and the moment in which to say it. Forgive our reticence, our anxiety. We pray for knowledge of the fullness of your Grace and the willingness to live it. Forgive our ignorance, our self-reliance. Be the centre of all we are The Light by which we walk The blessing we bring to others Through Jesus Christ alone we ask. Amen Community Time Benediction O Christ, we know that the gifts of our hands are no substitute for the loyalty of our lives. As we leave this sanctuary, enable us to serve your creation as we have worshiped you, with ourselves as well as our gifts. Children’s Time Hello, children of God… Have you ever taken a trip? What kinds of things help you prepare to travel? Do your parents use something to help find their way? Maybe you use a map…there are many different kinds of maps (take out a few while you describe): you might have a big road map like this, that shows you which highways to take if you’re driving somewhere. Maybe you go to an amusement park or a small place, and you get a map like this that shows you how to get around. Or you might go hiking and get a little guide like this, that helps you follow trails and not get lost. You might also use a compass like this, that points to the North to show you where things are. Well, these days a lot of people have electronic versions (hold up phone or GPS), so all you have to do is tell it where you want to go, and you can get turn by turn directions and even voice commands that guide you along your way! Consider this, though: have you ever followed a STAR for guidance? Has the night sky told you where and how to go? That probably sounds a little strange, doesn’t it? Well, a long time ago, a little bit after Jesus was born, God sent some special visitors to Him. There were men who lived far away, and they had studied Maybe you go to an amusement park or a small place, and you get a map like this that shows you how to get around. Or you might go hiking and get a little guide like this, that helps you follow trails and not get lost. You might also use a compass like this, that points to the North to show you where things are. Well, these days a lot of people have electronic versions (hold up phone or GPS), so all you have to do is tell it where you want to go, and you can get turn by turn directions and even voice commands that guide you along your way! Consider this, though: have you ever followed a STAR for guidance? Has the night sky told you where and how to go? That probably sounds a little strange, doesn’t it? Well, a long time ago, a little bit after Jesus was born, God sent some special visitors to Him. There were men who lived far away, and they had studied Scripture and watched stars. They knew that God had promised to send a Messiah to rescue people. We sometimes call them “wise men” or “Magi.” These men saw a brilliant star shining in the sky, brighter than any other star. They knew this was something important, and they believed God sent the star to show them where to find the Messiah. They traveled a long way to find the place the star led, and they finally found Him. Well, they first came to Jerusalem and saw King Herod (there’s another story there…), and then made their way to where Jesus was. When they found Him with Mary and Joseph, they gave Him special gifts: valuable gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They knew Jesus was important and wanted to honor Him. They were willing to take risks, sacrifice their time and money, and go to a lot of hard work to find the Messiah, and trusted God to lead them. Well, we may not have brightly shining stars to guide us, but we do have a special instruction manual to show us where to go. Do you know what map God has given us for direction? (Hold up a Bible) This! God has given His word, the Bible, for us to follow. It is our compass, map, and recipe for life! When we read the Bible and seek to understand what it says, we can better understand what God tells us and what ways we should live our lives. Just like a compass always points North, the Bible points to Christ. All of its stories are true, and they guide us to Jesus just like the star guided the Magi. So whatever else we look to for direction, let’s look to the Bible for spiritual guidance. Ask God to help you understand the Bible. Study it, put it in your heart, and remember its significance. It will never steer you wrong! Additional Illustrations Dr. James Dobson once told about a friend of his who was piloting a small single-engine plane one evening just about dusk. He was headed toward a small country airport. Night fell more quickly than he anticipated, however, and by the time he reached the airport, it was impossible for him to distinguish the paved landing strip in the darkness. His little plane was not equipped with lights and no one seemed to be around the little airport to turn on any lights on the runway. He started circling the airport, uncertainly. For two hours he circled around in the darkness not knowing what to do and expecting at any moment he might run out of fuel and plunge to his death. What happened next had to be an answer to prayer. Someone on the ground heard the little plane circling the airport and guessed what the problem was. Immediately he jumped into his car and headed for the airport. Not knowing how to switch on any of the airport’s lights, he settled for driving his car up and down the runway with his lights on high beam showing the pilot the dimensions of the runway. Then he pulled his car off the one end of the runway with his headlights still beaming to guide the pilot to a safe landing. (2) Wouldn’t you like to beam such a saving light into some person’s darkness? It may be a friend having family problems or battling an alcohol or drug addiction. It may be helping a child get into a Sunday School program where he or she will be loved and nurtured in the Christian faith. It may be involving yourself in the life of a resident of a nursing home who has no one to talk to or with whom to share God’s love. God does not love Christians any more than he loves anyone else, but he has chosen us to accomplish the most challenging and rewarding task in the world--to be His body in the world. I like a story Dr. Eugene Brice once told that comes from a time when radio was our dominant form of mass media. A sheepherder in Montana wrote the NBC Symphony in New York, telling of a problem he had. He was an amateur musician, a violinist. He listened to the symphony each Sunday on his radio. But his violin had gotten badly out of tune, and in his isolation, he had no way to tune it. He needed a big favor. And so on Sunday afternoon, June 18, 1938, at the beginning of the program of the NBC symphony, a loud and clear note was sent out across the air. It was a beautiful and clear A note and from that A note a sheepherder in Montana got his violin in tune. Christ, of course, is God’s A note for this discordant world. And we are those whom he has called to sound that note in our time. We do that by modeling in our lives the unconditional love of God for all people. It matters not where they come from or what mistakes they may have made. All people are God’s children and are in need of God’s wondrous and complete love. It is like a children’s story that author James Thurber once wrote titled, “The White Deer.” “The White Deer” is about a beautiful princess who had been transformed by a witch into a white deer. A king named King Clode and his three sons (Thag and Gallow, the hunters, and Jorn, the poet) are out hunting game and they come upon this white deer and they raise their bows to slay it. Just before they shoot, however, the deer is changed back into the princess. King Clode and his sons take this beautiful princess home with them but she is unable to remember anything about her past including who she is. It is finally discovered that the only thing that will cause the princess to regain her memory is the unconditional love of a young man. In order to determine who this young man will be--Thag, Gallow and Jorn are each given perilous tasks to perform. It is Jorn the poet who ultimately wins the princess’ hand. He gives her the kind of love that allows her to remember where she came from and who she is. (3) My friends, is this not what God has called us to do for a fallen world? By His grace we are to show the world the unfailing love of God at work in our lives so that the world may truly see where it came from and why it exists. Following a long and bitter congregational conflict, a pastor was asked what kept her going until reconciliation and renewal finally resulted. She replied, "The Five P's of ministry: Prayer, Persistence, Prayer, Play, and Prayer." Notice that prayer was at the beginning, middle, and end of her list. Prayer connects us to the true Light. Prayer keeps the vision of the true Light in view as darkness threatens to overcome it. Prayer enables us to place one foot in front of the other in the long and difficult journey through unknown darkness. Reach for the true Light in prayer. Lift up your eyes to see the guiding light of Christ along your life journey. Pay careful attention to what our text says happens when we journey in this light. Using vivid imagery here, Isaiah states that nations surrounding Jerusalem will see what the Lord has done and come to pay tribute and join in the celebration. "And nations will come to your light ... They all gather and come to you" (vv. 3- 4). Listen again to this important promise: "... nations will come to your light. They will gather and come to you." Dr. Leonard Sweet, president of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, mentions in his book Quantum Spirituality something that sports journalist George Plimpton had written. Mr. Plimpton had written about a "mysterious component" in an athlete's life. He said that when this component is added to an athlete's natural ability, it gives a player "a kind of boost, like an afterburner kicking in, a psychic energy that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts." He called it the "X Factor" and called it a combination of "adrenaline, intelligence, confidence, concentration, and discipline." The "X Factor." Dr. Sweet then went on himself to say this:For Christians the difference between an ordinary community and an extraordinary, life-producing organism is one word: Christ. Christ is the "X Factor," the "Inner Power" that transforms an assemblage of individuals into a synergic [sic] community of healing and love. (From Quantum Spirituality, p. 137) A synergetic community of healing and love is one in which everyone is working together cooperatively with God and with one another. This happens through the Spirit of Christ revealed to us by our loving God. Have we forgotten the X Factor in our lives? Have we failed to keep up front in our minds and hearts the total life-changing power of God's love and life as revealed to us in Jesus of Nazareth? Have we gotten sucked into the worst of the institutional church that keeps us busy doing good things, and forgotten the best of the church, its very purpose, which is bringing salvation and hope and joy and new life specifically through God's love known in Jesus, and then offering it to all the world? Early in January in northern Canada the sun peeks above the horizon for the first time after six weeks of hiding. An important dawn for Canada. Imagine how the lives of people in the northern latitudes would be different if they got used to the darkness and never even expected that a dawn would ever lighten their horizon again. The people to whom the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah witnessed and preached so long ago were a people whose hope for dawn had been all but extinguished. First the northern kingdom, Israel, had been conquered by Assyria and sent into exile in 721 B.C., and then the southern kingdom, Judah, was conquered by the Babylonians in 587 B.C., and exiled to Babylon, hundreds of miles to the east. A generation of Jews then lived with waning hope of ever seeing their homeland again, of ever walking through the gates of Jerusalem again, of ever stepping onto the porch of Zion, the temple of God, again. In 539 B.C., however, Cyrus, the leader of the Persian Empire, conquered the Babylonians, and in 538 B.C. decreed that the Jews should be allowed to go home (Ezra 1:2-4; 6:3-5). The experience was overwhelming, exhilarating. What was important just prior to this, though, was the vision of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, who, right in the midst of the worst of times, kept the vision of God's mercy and forgiveness alive. They predicted tthat the time would come when God would move the hearts and wills of appropriate leaders, and the exiles, the captives, would go home again to Jerusalem and Zion, the Mount of God. Rev. Richard Fairchild tells the harrowing story of an event that occurred on Sunday afternoon, June 1st, 1975. A man named Darrel Dore was on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly the rig wobbled, tipped to one side, and crashed into the sea. Darrel was trapped inside a room on the rig. As the rig sank deeper and deeper into the sea, the lights went out and the room began to fill with water. Thrashing about in the darkness, Darrel accidentally found a huge air bubble that was forming in the corner of the room. He thrust his head inside it. Then a horrifying thought sent a shiver down his spine. He was buried alive. He began to pray—out loud—and as he did, something remarkable happened. He said later: “I found myself actually talking to Someone. Jesus was there with me. There was no illumination, nothing physical, but I sensed him, a comforting presence. He was real, he was there.” For the next 22 hours that Presence continued to comfort Darrel. But now the oxygen supply inside the bubble was giving out. Death was inevitable. It was just a matter of time. Then a remarkable thing happened. Darrel saw a tiny star of light shimmering in the pitch-black water. Was it real? Or after 22 hours was he beginning to hallucinate? Darrel squinted his eyes. The light grew brighter. He squinted again. He wasn’t hallucinating. The light was real. It was coming from a diver’s helmet. Someone had found him. His 22-hour nightmare was over. Rescue had come. He was saved. (1) We are in a series of messages we have titled “Seeing God More Clearly in 2020.” It’s a little play on words, of course. But seeing God more clearly is what the season of Epiphany is all about. This is the Day of Epiphany, but it is only the first day of the season of Epiphany, a season in the church year that lasts until the beginning of Lent. The primary symbol of Epiphany is the star that led the Magi to the place where the Christ child lay. You were made to live in the light. You know that’s true if you’ve ever had the power go off for a few hours. No one has to tell you when the lights come back on. Your eyes, your mind, your very being is instantly aware when even the tiniest sliver of light enters your darkness. In the same way, when you understand that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God, you have a new vision for a life that reflects the reality of God. ravel writer Hugh Morris has an interesting online story about the Luxor Sky Beam. This beam of light—the strongest in the world—shines straight up from 39 xenon lamps on top of the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Sky Beam has shone continuously into the Nevada sky since 1993. On a clear night, it is visible to aircraft 275 miles away. But what is fascinating to me is that the Luxor Sky Beam, this brilliant light in the evening sky, which shines straight up into the sky from a Las Vegas casino has become a waypoint for pilots, a kind of GPS marker to serve as a backup to their highly sophisticated navigational tools as they make their way around the world. Morris explains that the sophisticated technology at the center of modern aviation means planes basically fly themselves. And even when pilots are called upon to navigate, it’s mostly done by studying instruments and reading data. But when the cockpit’s inhabitants are called upon to look out of their window, there exists a system that helps pilots to find their way from A to B using what are called “waypoints.” While most waypoints are mere GPS markers, some are real, actual geographical landmarks—like the Luxor Sky Beam in Las Vegas tower and the Carowinds Amusement Park near Charlotte Airport, North Carolina. (2) Now we may not get all that excited about a beam of light in the night sky over “Sin City,” Nevada that serves as a waypoint for pilots. But I am excited about a solitary waypoint that points the way for all humanity to be saved. That waypoint is, of course, Christ. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . . . The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Quite obviously it is our task to take the light of Christ to them. There is a time-honored story of a little girl who was shivering her way along a main street in one of our great cities. Seeing the beautiful lights of a church building and hearing the music coming from within, she went in and warmed herself as she listened. The preacher’s text was, “I am the light of the world.” At the close of the service, the little girl went to the minister and said, “Mister, did you say you are the light of the world, sir?” The minister replied, “No, young lady. Christ is the light of the world. I simply try to reflect his light.” The little girl looked at him for a moment, and said, “Well, sir, I wish you would come down and hang out in our neighborhood, ’cause it’s awful dark down there!” Followers of Jesus are, indeed, as the Master said, “the light of the world.” And we are to shine our light into all the dark neighborhoods of this world. (4) Jesus is the light of God that gives life and vision. Without light, there is no life. In Genesis 1:3, the first thing God creates to fill the heavens and the earth is light. God didn’t have to create darkness. Darkness is simply the absence of light. Darkness has no power and no purpose, except to obscure what exists. Light has both power and purpose. Light can nourish, it can illuminate, it can provide power and warmth. And repeatedly, the Bible equates light with the presence of God. “Did you know that an absence of sunlight causes blindness? Animals who live out their lives in a complete absence of light are commonly blind, even eyeless. Mules kept in mines also become blind. Horses kept in dark stables and denied sunlight become blind. Those who live in dungeons, cellars, prisons, mines, and similar places that are denied sunlight lose their sight. n one of his many books, Philip Yancey tells the story of Commander Richard Byrd. Bird once spent six months in a metal hut at the South Pole. The sun made no appearance during four of the six months he was there. Talk about darkness. Here is how Commander Byrd described that experience in his journal: “I find that I crave light as a thirsting man craves water . . . A funereal gloom hangs in the twilight sky. This is the period between life and death,” Byrd wrote. “This is the way the world will look to the last man when it dies.” Three weeks before the sun was due to shine again, Byrd wrote in his journal: “I tried to imagine what it would be like, but the conception was too vast for me to grasp.” When the sun finally did make its appearance, Byrd found it to be overwhelming. (6) Should we find ourselves in the presence of Christ, we would find ourselves overwhelmed as well--overwhelmed with his holiness, overwhelmed with the light of his love. Back in the 1770s or 1780s, a man named John Morris built a house in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. Using flint and steel, John Morris started a fire in his fireplace. And nobody knows why, but it became a point of pride in the Morris household not to let that fire go out. When John built another cabin for his family later on, coals from the original fire were transplanted to the fireplace of the new house. Members of the Morris family proudly declared that they would keep the fire going, to honor the wishes of John, who had charged his family, "The fire must never be allowed to go out." That fire became the catalyst for passing down family history through the generations. In the 1920s, the care of the fire rested with one man, William Morris --the great-great-grandson of John Morris. William had never married or had children, and he was nearing eighty. He tried to inspire his nieces and nephews with tales of the family fire, but none of them seemed interested in keeping the fire alive after William was gone. The fire was 150 years old by now. It marked a proud family tradition, one that everyone in the area admired. Would that tradition end once William died? William took it upon himself to see that it didn't. From an interview in the Spartanburg Herald, his story spread to newspapers all over North Carolina. William was invited to Washington, D.C., to tell the story over a national radio program. He began getting phone calls and letters from all over the country, many from people with the last name Morris. The National Park Service considered buying William's cabin, fireplace and all, and moving it to one of their national parks, where it could become a tourist attraction and the park rangers could tend to the fire. By now the "Saluda fire," named after the town where William Morris lived, had sparked the public imagination. Preserving the Saluda fire seemed like a noble undertaking. One day, not long after the publicity stir over the fire had started, one of William's neighbors came to see him. The neighbor, Hamp Alexander Owen, had only one thing to say that day, "I've come to tell you that I'll keep your fire going." Owens wasn't doing it for the publicity or the glory. He just admired the legacy, and believed that it was worth preserving. We don't know when William Morris died. But when Hamp Alexander Owens died in 1948, his obituary stated that he was "the keeper of the Saluda fire." The fire itself had been burning continuously for more than 170 years. But that is the last record anyone has of the Saluda fire. Did it die out? Or is it still burning somewhere, tended by some anonymous soul who believes in what it stands for? We just don't know. (4) We are the keepers of a fire that has been burning for 2,000 years. That is a remarkable phenomenon, is it not? Wars have been fought, revolutions have turned history on its head, numerous secular philosophies have claimed their place in the sun, but the flame of Christ has kept shining through the darkness. "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you." This is our call as the body of Christ. BUT IT IS ALSO OUR CALL AS INDIVIDUALS. "Arise, shine; for YOUR light has come."