Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Quincy, IL
Rev. Larry D. Troxel
The Third Sunday after Epiphany
Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 8:00 & 10:15 a.m.
"The Light That Brightened Galilee Shines in Our Lives."
(Isaiah 9:1-4)
In Jesus' name. Amen.
On the first day of creation "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light."1
Three days later He created what we call the sources of light - the sun, moon, and stars.2
John's Gospel calls Jesus the life which is the light of men, a light which darkness cannot overcome.3
Jesus said of Himself, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have
the light of life."4 When Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum
and established His home there, Matthew described that action by Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Isaiah.
Picture in your mind a land that has been repeatedly overrun by invading armies. By the grace of God we never have seen such destruction
and desolation in this country. If you are my age or older, you may remember the pictures of the desolation that World War Two left
in the cities of Germany or in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That is the description which Isaiah had in mind
when he wrote of the gloom that prevailed in the tribal lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, the northern end of Israel which more recently has been known as Galilee.
That area bordered on Lebanon and Syria. Repeatedly, invading armies fought their way across that region, ruining both towns and fields.
Repeatedly, control of the region alternated between Israelite kings and foreign rulers. But the gloom and darkness was not limited to military,
economic, and governmental factors. The region also was spiritually bankrupt and apostate. Isaiah described them with these words: "They will pass
through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king
and their God, and turn their faces upward. And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be
thrust into thick darkness."5
Finally, God had His fill of the unbelief of the people of that region. Holy Scripture records what happened: "The LORD removed Israel
out of His sight, as He had spoken by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day."6
Only a small remnant of faithful believers remained. And although the future looked only gloomy and dark, God promised them a brilliant
future when the Light of the world would appear in such a desolate place. That Light is Christ Jesus, who grew up in the village of Nazareth
in Galilee, who established His own residence in Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and whose first year of public ministry was
carried out mainly in Galilee.
That Light which brightened Galilee shines in our lives today. And, oh, how greatly we need that Light! We are surrounded by darkness and gloom
on every side and daily that darkness attempts to invade our lives. Just listen to radio news broadcasts, tune in to television news programs, or read
the newspapers. The news usually is not good. Nationally, there is talk about economic recession. Locally, the closing of one industry will mean the
loss of more than five hundred jobs. Nationally and internationally, we hear of wars and conflicts. Locally, the National Guard company that is based
here in Quincy is preparing to deploy to Iraq. The subject of teen pregnancy is front page news, but pregnancy outside of marriage no longer is regarded
by our society as sin and shame. A notorious female celebrity is lauded as the source of 100 million dollars for our national economy, and many
teenage girls desire to be like her even though her life is a sordid tale of sin and shame.
The darkness is not just out there in the headlines. It attempts to invade and control our lives every day. That darkness appeals to us disguised
as pleasure, as potential prosperity, as the path to success. We are tempted to indulge our desires even though God's Word calls it sin.
We are tempted to compromise the principles of God's Word in order to gain wealth. We are tempted to hide the Christ-centered witness
of our words and actions in order to achieve success in the business world. We are tempted to compromise our faithfulness to God's Word
in a futile attempt to attract more people to our congregation.
In our own lives the memory of the sins we have committed robs us of the joy of the salvation we have received in Christ Jesus.
Even though God's Word assures us that "the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin,"7
we have trouble realizing that we are that completely forgiven by God because of Jesus. Or else we take God's forgiveness for granted
to the point that we simply assume that we can go ahead and sin without any feeling of remorse or desire to repent.
The ongoing illness of a loved one or of our own or the death of a loved one brings the clouds of gloom into our lives, and we cannot dispel them.
The pain and the sense of loss are so real that we wonder if we ever will move beyond grieving to brighter days.
Yes, the gloom and the darkness is very real in our own lives, and it fills the world around us, more than we sometimes recognize.
It is to us that God brings His Good News today through His Word and Sacrament. The Light that brightened Galilee does still shine in our lives.
The Light of the world, Christ Jesus, has broken through the gloom and darkness with the assurance of His love for us, His presence with us,
His complete forgiveness of all our sins, and His promise to lead us securely through every day to come until we stand in His visible
presence8 in the eternal home He has prepared for us.9
What Isaiah said of the residents of Galilee is true also of us:
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.10
The Light who has shined in our lives is Christ Jesus. He came into our lives with His saving, transforming light in Holy Baptism
and through His Word. He has taken us from death to life, from the slavery of sin to the freedom of the Gospel, from the hopelessness
of death to the joy of life eternal. As Christ Jesus has done this in our lives He also has fulfilled another portion of Isaiah's prophecy.
By giving us Gentiles the gift of saving faith, God has "multiplied the nation," showing that His salvation and His Gospel are not meant
just for one nation or race or people but for all people everywhere.
Isaiah detailed the results of Jesus' saving work in our lives. Christ Jesus has removed the yoke of the burden of sin and guilt
that we bore. He has replaced that yoke and burden with the easy yoke and the light burden which links us to Him.11
He has removed forever from us the rod of our oppressor, the unrelenting reminders of our sin and guilt with which Satan daily attempts to beat us down.
The assurance of divine forgiveness which Jesus gives us blocks Satan's attempts to oppress us.
Indeed, the great victory which Jesus has won for us far exceeds the amazing victory which Gideon and his three hundred men
achieved by God's grace and power over a vastly superior army of the Midianites and Amalekites. You may recall the story of how
Gideon and his men surrounded the enemy camp at night. They did not fight. Instead they stood still, holding up their torches,
shattering clay jars on the ground, blowing trumpets, and shouting "For the LORD and for Gideon. God created such a panic in the
enemy army that the soldiers killed one another, with the remnant fleeing in panic and fear.12
What no human being or group of human beings could do, God accomplished miraculously.
Even greater was Jesus victory over sin and death by His own crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. Through His Word and
through His Holy Supper He gives that great victory to each of us personally. And He backs it with His great and gracious promise:
"But now thus says the LORD,
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel:
'Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."13
To this promise He also adds: "I am with you always."14
Will we have gloomy days? Yes. Will the Light who is Christ Jesus shine through the gloom and brighten our lives?
Yes, and He will do so to all eternity. Amen.
1. Genesis 1:3
2. Genesis 1:14-18
3. John 1:2-3
4. John 8:12
5. Isaiah 8:21-22
6. 2 Kings 17:23
7. 1 John 1:7
8. Revelation 7:9
9. John 14:1-3
10. Isaiah 9:2
11. Matthew 11:30
12. Judges 7:15-23
13. Isaiah 43:1-3a
14. Matthew 28:20
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