The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows - light! sunbursts of light! You repopulated the nation, you expanded its joy. Oh, they’re so glad in your presence! Festival joy! The joy of a great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings. The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants - all their whips and cudgels and curses - is gone, done away with, a deliverance as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian. The boots of all those invading troops, along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood, Will be piled in a heap and burned, a fire that will burn for days! For a child has been born - for us! The gift of a son - for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings. He’ll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living, beginning now and lasting always. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this. (Isaiah 9:2-7)
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A few nights ago, Lynn and I were on our way home well after dark from - a wedding reception! We were driving down Highway 406, and I glanced to my left at the eastern sky and did a bit of a double take. Then I said to Lynn, “look over there. The sky has a glow in it. That’s weird. I wonder what that is?” And we puzzled for a few moments and it suddenly hit me. And I said - “That has to be Niagara Falls. There’s enough light there that it makes the sky bright even when it’s night.” I had forgotten apparently. You see, I grew up in Toronto. There are both advantages and disadvantages to growing up in a big city. I don’t know which this is - but one thing about growing up in Toronto is that it’s never really dark there, and so you don’t get a concept of what dark is. Not really. In 1994, when I was ordained, we were sent to the United Church in Roberts Arm, Newfoundland - a little fishing outport, with about 900 people. It’s dark there at night. Really dark. But at least there are a few street lights. When it gets really dark is when you’re driving to Roberts Arm late at night. To get to Roberts Arm you have to drive down Highway 380 from South Brook. It’s a half hour drive through - to be honest - nothing. And at night it’s dark. Really dark. When we moved there we were given a warning. “If it’s dark and you see a moose” - because Newfoundland’s highways are filled with moose - “stop the car and turn your headlights off, because a bull moose will sometimes charge a car with headlights on.” One night a couple of months later we were driving home after dark - and we saw a big moose in the distance ahead. Lynn yelled “That’s a moose! Remember what they told us. Stop the car and turn the headlights off.” So I did. And we sat there in the dark. And we sat. For five minutes. Then ten. We couldn’t see a thing, of course, because it was pitch black outside. And finally Lynn said, “Since it’s so dark, how are we going to know if the moose is still there?” And I said in reply, “I don’t know.” So we turned on the headlights, and - sure enough - the moose had disappeared, probably long before then, having wandered off into the woods probably wondering - if a moose can wonder - what in the world those two city slickers were doing in his neighbourhood.
That’s the reality of living in darkness, isn’t it. In the dark, there are all sorts of potential dangers; all sorts of things to be afraid of; all sorts of things that might hurt you. It’s probably why all sorts of children and even a few adults I know of are afraid of the dark, even when we know we’re safe in our own homes. There’s nothing to be afraid of. There’s nothing there that isn’t there when it’s not dark. We know that. But there’s just something primal about it. We wait anxiously for the light to appear and take the scariness of the darkness away.
Maybe that’s why Jesus is called a “light.” The “great light” Isaiah spoke about is the Messiah. I want to share this passage from Luke 2:
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
God’s glory “blazed.” It was a light like no other light that any of the shepherds had ever seen before. And the message the shepherds heard was “don’t be afraid.” That’s the message of Christmas today. “Don’t be afraid.” Why not? Sometimes the world seems to be a scary place! But, “don’t be afraid.” Why not? Because Jesus has come. The light of God, the light of the world, God’s glory blazing. Jesus takes away all fear, and replaces it with love and hope and peace. Those are the things of Christmas, for a people who once walked in darkness, but have now seen a great light.
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