Turning on the LIght

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them light has shined. Isaiah 9. 1 - 4

Winter Storm Fern is bearing down on 40 states in my country, reaching across about 2300 miles, affecting about 245 million people. At this point on Sunday morning, 230,000 to 300,000 people are without power. I slept with a battery powered lantern by my bed last night, made my coffee and put it in the fridge and have a headlamp in my bathrobe pocket, but I still have power and am ever so grateful. As the new day dawns, I can still switch on a lamp and get light.

Proving what a living document scripture is, the passage above from the prophecy of the book of Isaiah tells us that even in the land of deep darkness, the Light will shine, and that prophecy is fulfilled in the passage from Matthew today as Jesus begins his ministry back in the land that sat in darkness, Zebulun and Naphtali.

I suspect being able to turn on a lamp and get light will mean something very different to the people who go without power for a length of days during this storm. Sitting in darkness for a long period of time certainly makes light more piercing. So too the darker we are, the brighter the Light of Christ is when it comes to us. Thus the demons in scripture recognize Jesus immediately, before the other people in the crowd.

Watch for the Light, my friends, and give thanks. And please join me in praying for those in the path of Storm Fern who are vulnerable and unable to find shelter.