A Star to Light Our Way

Happy New Year. The turning of the yearly calendar falls right about at the center of the Christmastide season—halfway between Christmas on December 25^th and Epiphany on January 6^th. There’s something that feels right about the symmetry of this changeover.

I feel like the ending of 2022 is filled with hope and joy. I look around every Sunday and my heart is buoyed by an optimism that is radiated out from all of you. There has been an unmistakable sense of delight that I have observed during the Advent season. It’s as if, when I look at people’s faces, everyone is glowing. 

Advent, Christmastide, and Epiphany are awash in light. I think back to the Advent Candles that we have lighted every week and the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve. The readings of the prophet Isaiah tell of a promise for people who walk in darkness –that they will see a great light. Luke describes the announcement of the birth by brilliant heavenly messengers who light up the sky. John describes the incarnation of Christ as the light that darkness cannot overcome. And Matthew tells of cultural and religious boundaries that were erased by the visitors who followed a star to find the child. 

While each of these familiar stories feel directed and destined, I imagine the characters who were at the center may not have had the kind of certainty that we ascribe today in their retelling. How did ancient prophets have the courage to proclaim a coming light while in exile? How did lowly shepherds know where to find a newborn infant in a village overflowing with out-of-town visitors? How did religious searchers –Magi—notice one star out of thousands, imbue it with meaning, and then travel great distances to find what they were looking for? 

Following a light in a world with darkness, peril, and ambiguity is no easy task. There was no blueprint, map, or guidebook. No one got a 5-step strategic plan. All any of these faithful seekers received was a feeling placed upon their hearts and bit of light shining a few steps ahead on a path to something that they trusted was God’s leading. Perhaps that’s why the Isaiah reading for January 1^st isn’t about light, but it’s about trust. The church year offers Isaiah 63:7-9 for us to ponder. Verse 7 says this,

I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, 
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, 
because of all that the Lord has done for us, 
and the great favor to the house of Israel 
that he has shown them according to his mercy, 
according to the abundance of his steadfast love. (Verse 7)

The following of the light begins with a statement of trust in what God has done and a belief that God will continue to provide. The evidence of God’s providence in the past is the basis of that faith in a future that is unknown. But I love how the text goes on to tells of God’s confidence in us.

For he said, “Surely they are my people, 
children who will not deal falsely”; 
and he became their savior 
in all their distress. (Verses 8-9a)

This is a promise and an assurance that God believes in humanity, even as God asks humankind to trust in return. And what God promises is God’s very own presence. 

It was no messenger or angel 
but his presence that saved them; 
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; 
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Verse 9b)

Friends, as we step through the doorway into a new year, we do not know what the future holds. We only know that God is leading. And we know it is an endeavor that we do together.  We know this because it is what happened before. The shepherds consult one another on their decision to go. “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place…” they say. The wise men ask of others, “Where is the child who has been born King…” Seeking should not be a solitary endeavor. It is an exercise in conversation, community, listening, and shared decision making. 

As we step forward into 2023, I hope that we will live in the light and spirit of Christmas and Epiphany, holding in our hearts the memory of God’s past mighty deeds in our lives and confident in the knowledge that God’s presence will continue to carry us. This is the true meaning of the light. This is the promise of a God that saves. This is coming of the Christ—the one called Immanuel—God with us.

New year’s blessings,

Pastor Duane

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