"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." (Isaiah 60:1-3)
Many Jews of Jesus' day looked for earthly deliverance from their Roman oppressors. Others like Herod and the Sadducees made their peace with their Roman overlords, settled into the gloom, and maintained the status quo. God seemed to be silent. However, the promised Light came in a form that was totally unexpected and was subsequently rejected.
Wise men from the East (present day Iraq or Iran?) had a different perspective and were aware of a reality to which the people of God were blind. The significance of Jesus' birth was revealed only to Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna. Years later, Jesus' identity was revealed to John the Baptist in his vision of the descending dove at Jesus' baptism. John declared Jesus identity to those who would listen.
Like Jesus' contemporaries, we can lose the sense of God's presence as we go through our days immersed in mundane activities, our challenges, and responsibilities. We often struggle to understand God's purpose in the midst of what seems like dark times. We can feel overwhelmed by the problems we see in our society and the suffering and injustice in our world.
The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk provides a vivid example of the struggle to understand God's apparent silence in evil times as he cries out to God,
"O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you 'Violence!'
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted."
But God did have a plan----one that was difficult for Habakkuk to understand and accept. God told him "the righteous shall live by his faith." As he worked through what God had revealed to him, his trust in God was restored.
We live in the reality of Christ' resurrection and we have the certainty of His future return when Isaiah's vision will be completely fulfilled. In the meantime, we have a unique calling as the Body of Christ on earth, for we are to show forth the light of Christ as Peter states,
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (I Peter 2:9)
Until Christ comes again, we are to display His light to the world.