This sermon kicked off our preaching series that will go until Transfiguration Sunday on February 15 (except for maybe one week). It follows the lectionary passages from the prophet Isaiah and focuses on the prophet's use of the word "light." The passage from the first verse is also the title of the song we sang after the sermon, which was a nice addition to the service.
I finally used the illustration from my time in Mt. Sterling. It's been in my sermon illustration file for the past 30 years, waiting or this moment! I think it worked fairly well. I struggled finding time to work on the sermon this week, but I ended up with a sermon that work ok.
I did not finish the final illustration - just left it with the mother at the door asking for the lights to be turned on. I think it was an effective way to handle it because several people asked me about it after the service. and the answer is (drum roll, please), yes she turned on the light show!
“A Light”; Isaiah 60: 1-6; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; January 4, 2026
Isaiah 60: 1-6
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2
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.
3
Nations shall come to your light
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together; they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried in their nurses’ arms.
5
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you;
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
Introduction: Although light is not mentioned much during Advent,
that liturgical time of preparation for Christmas,
when we get to Christmas Eve,
light suddenly becomes a dominant image as we light the Christ candle,
read from the prophet Isaiah, “the people who have walked in darkness have seen great light,”
and, of course, finish the service with the lighting of candles as we sing “Silent Night.”
those experiences are one of the reasons we refer to the light of Christ, even though that exact phrase is not found in the biblical text.
over the next month or so, our lectionary preaching series will focus on images of light found the words of the prophet Isaiah.
we will look at how the image of light speaks to more than just the light of Christ, but how light has exemplified how God has been at work in the world since,
well, since God said, “let there be light” way back as the world was created!
Move 1: on this Epiphany Sunday, we read the opening verses of the 60th chapter of Isaiah,
a. Now, we suspect that the lectionary has picked this passage from Isaiah because of its mention of the camels,
and gold and frankincense,
which pairs up nicely with the story of the wise men as found in the gospel of Matthew,
which is the gospel lesson for this morning, if we had red a gospel lesson!
b, but instead of camels, wise men, and gifts, let’s reflect on the opening verses of This chapter of Isaiah:
“Arise, shine, for your light has come.”
1. In its original context, this prophecy comes from what scholars call Third Isaiah,
prophecy in the pattern of Isaiah that is shared with the Israelites after their return from exile in Babylon.
1. Imagine the scene -
The exiles have come back to Jerusalem almost giddy from the excitement of returning.
I suspect the returning exiles only see prosperity and the return to the good times ahead of them.
2. But then they discover the reality:
The Temple and the wall are in disrepair.
those who were not exiled are not exactly joyful at their return
The neighboring people resent the exiles and feel threatened by them.
The return from exile to Jerusalem brings with it the reality that things are difficult.
this is not how they had imagined things.
Where will the Israelites find hope for the future?
5. When things are difficult for you where do we find your hope for the future?
admittedly, we are not returning exiles.
in fact, our position in the world has part of one of the powers in the world is very different than the status of the returning exiles in their world.
but, the question might be the same for us - where should we turn to find our hope,
our guidance for the future.
6. To the returning exiles the prophet Isaiah points the people to God and uses the image of light to tell the people that God’s intention is to transform Zion.
b. We recognize that light is a powerful and hopeful image on its own,
but light also carries with it a powerful reminder of how God has already been at work in the lives of God’s people.
1. They hear Isaiah prophesy about light, and they Remember that time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and God was working to bring them out of slavery.
2. it was another time when God’s people looked around and wondered if they had any reason to hope,
any reason to believe that God would save Israel.
3. when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, God brought a series of plagues to Egypt.
3. Do you remember the 9th plague?
The ninth plague was darkness -
for three days the land was covered in darkness.
a darkness so thick you could feel it.
As if the darkness could suffocate the light and life itself.
The darkness is everywhere, except,
except in the homes of the Israelites where they have light.
A reminder that God had not forgotten them,
a reminder that God was still at work,
a reminder that they had a future in front of them Because was with them.
4. Or, when they hear the prophet Isaiah speak about the light,
they remember that as their ancestors wandered through the wilderness, they had a pillar of fire by night leading them.
the light not only allowed them to see to travel at night;
but the light reminded them that God was with them and leading them through the wilderness.
c. The church where I was ordained and served for six years was in a small, central Ky town, where the bluegrass met the Daniel Boone forest.
A beautiful place to live and the town was sort of like you might stereotype a small ky town.
the church was downtown, so I got to know lots of the people who lived downtown.
one of the people I got to know was Tom.
he had been blind since childhood and lived by himself a couple of blocks from the church.
I drove by his house multiple times a day.
It took me a while to notice, but eventually i realized that he turned in the lights in his house everyday, which seemed sort of odd to me since he lived alone, and he, of course, did not need lights on in the house.
one day, I was talking to him and I asked him, “tom, why do you turn on your lights in the house?”
blind man lives in Mt. Sterling and he keeps his lights on during the day and turns them out at night.
he told me that his mother lived down the street and she got worried if she didn't see his lights one each day,
so he turned them on to let her know he was there doing his thing and she did not need to worry.
“Arise, shine, your light has come!”
Isaiah wants to the Israelites to know,
Isaiah wants us to know,
that God is still with them,
still with us
doing God’s thing,
and there is a future for God’s people.
Move 2: “Arise, shine…”
a. Isaiah uses the imperative voice.
he gives them a command.
1. As if the Israelites have given up and are lying around, depressed,
unable to get up,
no hope, no future.
2. But Isaiah calls them to their task.
The Israelites have work to do.
God is not done, and they have work to do.
b. Such is the life of God’s people.
1. If God is not done with transforming the world,
and that’s what Isaiah describes
if we read beyond vs 6,
beyond the camels and gold and frankincense,
We hear this vision:
I will appoint Peace as your overseer
and Righteousness as your taskmaster.
18
Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
God’s plan to transform and save God’s people and the world.
2. So then the work of God’s people is not done because we are called to join with God in that transformative work.
2. As we feel helpless in the face of the injustices in our world,
we hear Isaiah calling us to “Arise.”
As we feel powerless to make a difference in the world,
we hear Isaiah calling us to “Arise.”
as we wonder what we should do with all the resources and powers with which we are blessed,
we hear Isaiah’s call to “Arise”
As we wonder what to do next to show forth God’s grace,
we hear Isaiah calling us to “Arise.”
3. Isaiah speaks in the imperative because it is imperative for God’s people to be at work,
to be God’s light in the world as God sees to transform the world.
4. Isaiah does not just prophesy a word of hope about God’s light in their midst,
but commands us to be part of the light.
Conclusion: maybe you saw the big holiday light display they have at at Frisco Square.
a choreographed show features more than 180,000 lights and 200 dancing snowflakes. You tune your radio to 107.3 FM as you drive through to enjoy the lights synchronized to holiday music. (go to https://www.friscosquare.com/cits-overview to read more about this year’s light show at Frisco)
Last night was the last show.
The book Tinsel: A Search For America's Christmas Present, by Hank Stuever describes how it all began.
Twenty-four years or so ago, Jeff and Bridget Tryskoski, a couple in Frisco, TX, turned their home and yard into a light festival every year.
It began when they bought their first home. They bought in a neighborhood with no homeowner association rules about lights; they bought a house with a huge front yard.
Jeff had always wanted to be the one who owned “that house,” the one that everyone came to see before Christmas.
They began in 2001 with 10,000 incandescent light bulbs. IN those days, they could not use the AC or the dishwasher during the four hours people drove by their house because it would blow a breaker.
Their goal – to brighten people's lives.
Bridgette tells this story (Tinsel, 45-6): “One time the doorbell rang and a woman stood there. It was late – a half hour after the computer had automatically switched the lights off for the night. She had her kids in her care and the Trykoskis if they'd turn it all back on, just for a little bit. 'Please,' the woman said, 'we've just had the worst day. It would really help.'”
the prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Arise, shine, for your light has come.”
God is in our midst transforming the world.
Be part of the light
